Aviation expected to soar after low-altitude opens to high flyers
Source: Xinhua |
02:15 UTC+8 November 16, 2010
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A BOOM in the aviation market is expected to follow China's decision to open its low-altitude airspace to private aircraft.
Part of the low-altitude airspace will be opened to promote the country's general aviation sector, including the purchase and use of private planes, said a document jointly issued by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
"The open airspace reform will definitely inject energy into the general aviation industry, and of course, some Chinese are hoping to realize their long-expected dreams of flying," said Lin Zuoming, general manager of Aviation Industry Corporation of China.
The reform will be piloted in some areas next year and gradually extended, according to the document.
"It's a clear timetable, practical guidance. It is a positive signal on China's low-altitude airspace reform," said Li He, regional manager of Hong Kong-based Avion Pacific Ltd, a general aviation sales and service company.
Li said rumors of reform had been circulating for months, and some of China's super rich were ready and willing to pay hundreds of millions of yuan for private aircraft.
Currently, owning a plane is one thing, flying it is quite another. China's low-altitude airspace is controlled by the Air Force and the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Every single private aircraft flight needs approval, and the procedure can take a week.
The bureaucracy has hampered demand for private aircraft. According to the document, China's low-altitude airspace will be divided into three sections: controlled areas; monitored areas; and areas where aircraft can fly freely after reporting the flight plans in advance.
"I will be able to fly openly in the sky and not just secretly to the top of hills," said a Sichuan Province man surnamed Gan, who bought a helicopter in 2008.
"Opening up low-altitude airspace is like formatting an expressway network in the air. It is the precondition for rapid growth of the general aviation industry," said Wang Bin, president of Avicopter Corporation Limited.
Increased market demand would be unleashed, promising a bright future for the manufacturing and service industries, Wang said.
The Hurun Rich List 2010 lists 1,363 individuals with a personal wealth of 1 billion yuan (US$150 million) on Chinese mainland. Other research suggests there are 300,000 potential plane buyers in China.
"Some of my super rich friends cannot wait to buy a private plane. They have placed orders to put them under trusteeship in my general aviation base, which is under construction," said Deng Bin, president of a high-tech company and a private plane club owner in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province.
Inadequate ground facilities have been a key reason in keeping China's private plane sales and the general aviation market sluggish.
"Storage, maintenance, training and commission rental services, all are headaches that I have experienced," Deng said. He believed the extreme shortage of general aviation services in China would become a great market for him and his peers.
The document called for efficient management to enable the development of the general aviation sector.
Part of the low-altitude airspace will be opened to promote the country's general aviation sector, including the purchase and use of private planes, said a document jointly issued by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
"The open airspace reform will definitely inject energy into the general aviation industry, and of course, some Chinese are hoping to realize their long-expected dreams of flying," said Lin Zuoming, general manager of Aviation Industry Corporation of China.
The reform will be piloted in some areas next year and gradually extended, according to the document.
"It's a clear timetable, practical guidance. It is a positive signal on China's low-altitude airspace reform," said Li He, regional manager of Hong Kong-based Avion Pacific Ltd, a general aviation sales and service company.
Li said rumors of reform had been circulating for months, and some of China's super rich were ready and willing to pay hundreds of millions of yuan for private aircraft.
Currently, owning a plane is one thing, flying it is quite another. China's low-altitude airspace is controlled by the Air Force and the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Every single private aircraft flight needs approval, and the procedure can take a week.
The bureaucracy has hampered demand for private aircraft. According to the document, China's low-altitude airspace will be divided into three sections: controlled areas; monitored areas; and areas where aircraft can fly freely after reporting the flight plans in advance.
"I will be able to fly openly in the sky and not just secretly to the top of hills," said a Sichuan Province man surnamed Gan, who bought a helicopter in 2008.
"Opening up low-altitude airspace is like formatting an expressway network in the air. It is the precondition for rapid growth of the general aviation industry," said Wang Bin, president of Avicopter Corporation Limited.
Increased market demand would be unleashed, promising a bright future for the manufacturing and service industries, Wang said.
The Hurun Rich List 2010 lists 1,363 individuals with a personal wealth of 1 billion yuan (US$150 million) on Chinese mainland. Other research suggests there are 300,000 potential plane buyers in China.
"Some of my super rich friends cannot wait to buy a private plane. They have placed orders to put them under trusteeship in my general aviation base, which is under construction," said Deng Bin, president of a high-tech company and a private plane club owner in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province.
Inadequate ground facilities have been a key reason in keeping China's private plane sales and the general aviation market sluggish.
"Storage, maintenance, training and commission rental services, all are headaches that I have experienced," Deng said. He believed the extreme shortage of general aviation services in China would become a great market for him and his peers.
The document called for efficient management to enable the development of the general aviation sector.
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