Chris Pocock has been covering the defense beat for AIN for over 30&nbsp;years. He is a British citizen and a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Chris worked in the air cargo business for ten years before becoming a full-time writer in 1983. He subsequently edited two air cargo journals before becoming AIN’s Defense Editor. He retired from that position in 2018, but still contributes to the publication. Chris has written extensively on aerial reconnaissance, including four books on the history of the U-2 spyplane. He also lectures on this and other topics related to intelligence-gathering in the Cold War.

Defense Correspondent

Chris Pocock

The Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (ABACE) will return to Hong Kong next year, increasing to a two-day format, February 3 and 4. This year, the U.S. National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) jointly staged a one-day forum in Hong Kong on February 14. It drew 1,131 people, 29 exhibitors and 14 aircraft, but many participants indicated a preference for a two-day event.
The ABACE conference and exhibition will be held in the new AsiaWorld Expo Center at Hong Kong International Airport, and the static display will again be hosted by the nearby Hong Kong Business Aviation Center.
The growth in Asian business aviation also made headlines at February’s Singapore Airshow where the new B-Jets group ordered $600 million worth of new jets.
Planning to start operations before the end of June, the operator is to offer fractional ownership, block charter and aircraft management in both India and Southeast Asia. It has ordered 20 Cessna Citation CJ2+s and 20 Hawker 850XPs and 900XPs for delivery over the next five years. Former NetJets Europe executive Mark Baier heads the company.
Separately, another new Asian charter operator, Air Club One, ordered 10 Eclipse 500 very lights jets during the Singapore show. The company, whose managing director, Manav Singh, is based in New Delhi and is Eclipse’s first customer in India. Here at EBACE’08, the board of the International Business Aviation Council is to decide whether to accept AsBAA as a member of it group. Last year, it took the occasion to vote to accept the Middle East Business Aviation Association as a member. IBAC currently represents business aviation organizations in North America, Europe, South America, Africa and Australasia.

ABACE Returns to Hong Kong

The Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (ABACE) will return to Hong Kong next year, increasing to a two-day format, February 3 and 4.

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