AsBAA in Action - In Case You Missed It! AsBAA in action-Easter Special_v2 | Page 9

Each month we will feature an inspiring woman in aviation. If you have a story to share, we would love to hear it. Please get in touch: [email protected] What is the achievement you are most proud of? I have been working in the business aviation industry for over 12 years now, and I still have the passion to continue my career here. My greatest achievement occurred while in a marketing position where I assisted in growing the company’ s business from scratch to being one of the biggest operators in Asia with a fleet of 54 aircrafts in 2016. In 2012 alone we added 16 aircraft to the fleet. There were tremendous challenges and difficulties to achieve that milestone but we overcame them. I hope I can bring this experience and my valuable knowledge to all my roles at Amber. I want to discover new profitable markets and increase brand awareness. I also hope to harmonise Chinese and Western cultures at work and get local customers to accept our international management better. How have you seen the industry change over the last 5 years? The industry has had significant changes over the past 5 years. At the early stages, the China market was booming with a huge increase in the number of newly delivered aircraft registered in China. But due to the 2012/2013 anti-corruption campaigns in China, buyer’ s intentions decreased for luxury products, which consequently had a huge impact in the industry. In addition to this, the expectations of clients keep going higher and higher. They are no longer first time buyers and having own a jet for several years now, they have more experience and knowledge, so they required higher service standards and with all other arrangements too. What do you see as some of the challenges for business aviation in Asia? Not enough ground facilities / infrastructure to serve the business aviation industry. It’ s difficult even just to apply for a slot in the ever-busy Beijing, Shanghai, or Hong Kong airports. Parking space is also an issue, so aircraft often need to fly to another airport for parking after dropping off clients. What is the latest from your company? We are focusing on promoting our new, open service platform which provides a comprehensive suite of services that can suit all of a client’ s potential needs. The client can simply choose their preferred services, even their own crew and, if they wish, their own flight department. We can also assist them with AOC applications by giving them access to our resources who are experienced in these procedures. Without investing too much, clients can enjoy services like maintenance, having their own pilots and flight attendants, or having someone oversee the entire procedure. We can also provide operational support, cost control, aircraft trading, and pre-purchase inspections. The platform is not just limited to jet owners, but is also available to industry peers, such as OEMs, operators etc. We are in the process of developing an APP for jet owners where they can check all the information related to their aircraft including a history record, instant status and any future planned trips. Visibility of daily operations and detailed costs are displayed transparently so clients can monitor these and to build trust in their partnership with Amber. Amber will attend ABACE 2018 as exhibitor for the first time. And a big project is on the way, which we hope we can share with you soon. How do you see business aviation developing over the next five years? The market is recovering now and with China’ s “One Belt One Road” strategy, China should be able to maintain 6.5% economic growth annually. About 90% of the Global Fortune 500 foreign companies own private aircrafts, whereas only 30% of this kind of Chinese companies own private aircraft – so there is a huge potential upside for the China market, with strong purchasing power and room for growth. This is certainly something that the entire industry is looking forward to. In the future, there also might be more openness from the CAAC, considering how the CAAC has started now to provide courses that educate new players in the industry on how management companies should be set up. This may also spur more jet owners to set up their own AOC or flight department. As the level of sophistication and understanding among aircraft owners increases, it is a natural progression for these same owners to want to manage their own aircraft. www.asbaa.org Not yet a member of AsBAA? Join us! Your Association Needs YOU!