5,700 Square Meter Hangar Includes Maintenance, Cleaning And Storage Space#
Deer Jet's new hangar is the largest in China
This week, the Chinese charter flight provider Beijing Deer Jet unveiled China's largest private jet hangar at Beijing Capital International Airport. At an event attended by local media and Civil Aviation Authority officials, Deer Jet President, Zhang Zhi announced that the new 5,700 square meter hangar can accommodate four Gulfstream 550s and 2 Gulfstream 200s, with room for cleaning, maintenance and equipment storage.
Zhang added that the opening of the new hangar, which will be also open to service jets outside of Deer Jet's fleet, is a major step forward for business jet storage and maintenance in China. As Hexun recently reported, jet owners in China have called attention to the lack of all-weather storage at Beijing Capital, where business fleets have been fully exposed to inclement weather. Zhang Zhi noted this week that Deer Jet's new hangar fully protects jets from the elements.
According to private aviation industry sources, China will have more than 200 private jets by 2012, with Deer Jet expected to own nearly 100. Currently, Deer Jet operates a total of 39 corporate jets, 21 of which are owned by the company and 18 of which are managed for others. As Jing Daily wrote last month, Deer Jet is looking to establish itself as China's top private aviation provider, having recently purchased Asia’s first Airbus ACJ319 and received a Platinum ARG/US safety rating.
While the opening of an aircraft hangar might not sound like big news, it brings up an interesting topic -- the gap between sales and service in China. While sales in high-end segments like private aviation, yachts and sports cars continue to roar ahead, maintenance infrastructure continues to lag behind. Earlier this year, a man dissatisfied with the after-sales service on his Lamborghini publicly smashed the vehicle in Tianjin, and the country's nascent yacht industry continues to suffer from a dearth of trained crews and service staff.