Florida Beats Asia in Private Jet Use

BBA Aviation Plc (BBA), the world’s biggest provider of bases for business jets, plans to spend $300 million on U.S. acquisitions this year as demand for private planes in emerging markets remains in its infancy.

London-based BBA is focused on a U.S. market that provides 75 percent of sales, Chief Executive Officer Simon Pryce said, adding that emerging economies are too lacking in big companies and infrastructure to support extensive use of business jets.

“There are more planes on the ramp at Palm Beach on any given Saturday afternoon than there are in the whole of India and China,” Pryce said yesterday in a telephone interview. “We will see lots and lots of growth in India and China and the other emerging markets, but from a very low base.”

Palm Beach International airport, north of Miami, is the world’s second busiest for business jets, behind Teterboro, which serves New York City, according to the 2011 FBO Survey compiled by Forecast International for Aviation International News, while the U.S. market is almost 10 times larger even than that in Europe.

That contrasts with trends in the airline industry, where Asia accounted for almost 31 percent of traffic in December, North America 27 percent and Europe 26 percent, according to Bloomberg.