After dream homes, limousines and yachts the new object of desire for the Asian super-rich is the private jet. More and more aircraft manufacturing companies are courting this segment of the clientele, which gives ever greater satisfaction. At the Singapore Airshow, which has just ended, there was a riot of new models, offers, excellent testimonials and special effects.
Brazil's Embraer flew Jackie Chan's private jet, a Legacy 650 model (with a custom white, yellow and red livery inspired by a mythical Chinese dragon) to Singapore especially for the Fair. The movie star, born in Hong Kong and specialized in martial arts films, has become a brand ambassador for Embraer in the world. Chan's personal aircraft, with 13 seats and a list price of $31,5 million, was one of the many exhibited models from major companies such as Canadian Bombardier and US Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
"Asia-Pacific – explains Ernest Edwards, president of Embraer – is a market that is growing rapidly”. And it's not hard to see why: the area includes the largest population of millionaires and billionaires after the United States. Above all, India and China provide new "levers"., according to data from Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini. Jet makers are now targeting so-called "ultra high net worth" individuals and families with investable assets of at least $30 million. The number of people who belong to this category grew to 23 in Asia in 2010. Furthermore, according to the American magazine "Forbes", there are 150 billionaires in China alone.
Among the various companies present at the airshow, Embraer expects to sell $40-48 billion worth of executive jets in Asia over the next ten years.
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