Private jet operators court China’s billionaire travellers
With the second largest concentration of billionaires in the world, China is an obvious target for companies in a regional market for private air travel that's estimated to be growing by US$3 billion a year
When a passenger boarded a Zetta Jet in South Africa a couple of years ago, he ordered champagne and caviar. So far, so first-class, right? Except, the frequent flier wanted a specific caviar only available in Europe. So Zetta Jet sent staff to source and fly in the caviar from Geneva. The total tab for caviar alone? US$150,000.
“We can make it happen,” says Geoffrey Cassidy, managing director of the private jet airline which has its headquarts in Singapore. “We do have some weird and wonderful requests, and we go out of our way to do it.”
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With a growing number of multimillionaires and billionaires in Asia, Zetta Jet is among the private jet operators in the region who have set their sights on getting these high net-worth individuals on board.
“There isn’t much awareness of private jets in Asia to start with, but it’s picking up. With more education, demand will pick up and the prices will be better,” says Cassidy.
He launched Zetta Jet with fellow aviation professionals James Seagrim and Matthew Walter in August 2015. And since then its fleet of Bombardier Global jets has flown headlining acts into Singapore for its Formula 1 race, as well as VIPs to a Macau casino opening. Clients have included Hollywood celebrities, Silicon Valley executives, oil tycoons, hoteliers and sultans.
