Airplane manufacturers are competing to win over Asia's wealthiest flyers, bringing private jets with bedrooms, showers, and panoramic windows to the Singapore Airshow, according to the BBC.
The piece has grabbed attention for spotlighting a booming luxury aviation market at a time when communities across the globe are feeling the effects of rising temperatures.
The Gulfstream G700 turned heads at the trade fair, with a crowd snaking across the tarmac for a chance to board. The company divides the interior into what it calls "living areas," including a lounge and a sleeping area billed as a "grand suite with a shower." Buyers should expect to pay eight figures for one of these aircraft.
The buyer pool is swelling. Worldwide, the population worth $30 million or more jumped by over 70% between 2020 and 2025. Last year saw about 3.7 million private jet flights globally, a figure that's grown around 35% since before the pandemic, per aviation intelligence firm WingX.
Here's the catch: Per person, flying private is one of the dirtiest ways to get from Point A to Point B. Jet makers tout sustainable aviation fuel, but not nearly enough is being made, and what does exist comes at a steep premium.
That means more planes in the sky carrying fewer people, all so that a small slice of buyers can skip the terminal. If you care about clean air, that's a lot to sit with.
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"Here in Asia, and especially Southeast Asia, we're particularly busy right now. Our market share is growing. We're delivering more airplanes into the region. ... We're very busy in Vietnam. In Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand," said Scott Neal, Gulfstream's head of worldwide sales, per BBC.
Carlos Brana, head of civil aircraft at Dassault Aviation, told the BBC that buyers value speed over extravagance. "They are not necessarily chasing luxury. ... What they need is to travel with as little fatigue as possible," he said.
Neal pointed to fuel improvements in newer models. "In just one generation of aircraft, we've reduced fuel burn for a similar mission by 35%," he said.
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