There's a new variation on an old joke doing the rounds in aviation circles: how do you end up with a small fortune running a private jet company on the mainland? Answer: start with a big fortune.
The joke was doing the rounds at last month's Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition in Shanghai, and summed up the industry's jitters at a time when the sector is starting to look very crowded.
Dozens of mainland private jet owners are rushing to set up chartering companies, seeing it as an efficient way to make sure their own aircraft are working for them even when they're not using them.
'Many business jet owners think it makes sense to set up private jet companies but don't know just how tedious and sophisticated and demanding the business can be,' said Jenny Lau, president and chief executive of SinoJet, a Hong Kong-based business jet management company funded by mainland private investors.
The surge of interest in private jet maintenance and chartering services follows an explosion in private jet purchases from 2008, since when the number of private jets have more than tripled to 109.
At present, 48 corporate jet companies are waiting for Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) approval for an aircraft operator certificate. But only nine operators are actually in service, including Deer Jet, Beijing Airlines, China Eastern Airlines' corporate jet arm, Shenyang-based ZYB Lily Jet, and Shandong-based Nanshan Jet