China’s young rich tech entrepreneurs take off into private jet rentals, ditching the status symbol of ownership
- Leasing rather than owning can mean big savings and fewer hassles, VistaJet says
- Rental trend comes amid greater scrutiny of corporate expenses
Chinese entrepreneurs used to see owning a private jet as the ultimate symbol of success. Now, young Chinese tech executives increasingly prefer to rent.
Ian Moore, an executive with VistaJet which offers rental packages by the hour, said the change he is seeing is being propelled by convenience, savings and increased scrutiny of expenses by investors.
“In Asia, the private aviation market is still new, said Moore, VistaJet’s chief commercial officer who is also a director of its UK subsidiary. “Entrepreneurs here are more happy using their personal wealth flying privately and less accepting of putting on those costs as their company’s expenses,” added Moore, who said this contrasts with the US corporate world where owning a private jet that flies the entire team is “part of doing business there.”
Moore said that by-the-hour rental costs are only a quarter of expenses associated with owning a jet, which include such things as acquisition and maintenance, space rental, insurance, fuel and a pilot’s salary. Keeping up with all that can also be a time sap.
Moore’s observations come as China’s fast growing digital economy has generated a pool of wealth among entrepreneurs in their thirties.
Even though the private jet chartering market in Asia is much less mature than in the US, growth from the region, including Greater China, has been on a par with the overall global market, recording 25 per cent increase in flights in 2018 from a year ago, Moore said.