While the U.S. and Europe remain the largest markets for business aviation, since 2008 the growth of business aircraft fleets in Africa, Latin America and Asia has been intense. “Malaysia, which has been experiencing a strong growth in demand for business travel for several years now, is trying to attract new MRO-related investments and the conditions for that seem to be more than favorable,” said Kestutis Volungevicius, head of FL Technics.
According to Volungevicius, Malaysia is currently the fourth largest buyer of business jets in the Asia-Pacific region. During the last 13 years the business aircraft fleet in Malaysia has grown by almost 80 percent and now accounts for almost 4 percent of all business aircraft in the region.
“The popularity of private jets has been steadily rising in Malaysia, since its expanding trade has increased the demand for point-to-point travel. Business jets are no longer perceived as a luxury, but more as a business tool, so the rapid growth of the business jet fleet in the region is not surprising. However, as the new trends in civil aviation create new business opportunities for MROs, it’s very interesting to observe how the newcomers are starting to compete with some of the trusted providers in the region.
“Considering the Malaysian aviation industry in terms of its current stage of development, it offers lower rental, construction and operating costs. There’s also still enough room for expansion, so the fact that it is favored by many new international players should raise no eyebrows. Moreover, lower labor rates will definitely contribute to raising the competitiveness of local services,” he said. FL Technics is a provider of technical training for the aviation industry.
