AINsight: BAAFEx Puts Business Aviation Back on the Asia Map | Aviation International News

BAAFEx 2025

Training and Workforce

AINsight: BAAFEx Puts Bizav Back on the Asia Map

Inaugural show in Singapore exceeded exhibitor and attendee expectations

BAAFEx lion dance opening ceremony — A traditional lion dance and (stuffed) pineapples, representing prosperity, greeted visitors at the BAAFEx opening ceremony. © Matt Thurber/AIN

By Matt Thurber • Editor-in-Chief

March 7, 2025

Putting on a business aircraft conference or exhibition is incredibly hard, and launching a new show is probably 10 times harder. But people like meeting face to face—after all, that’s why business aviation exists. And while it seems like there are way too many aviation events, there was a niche that wasn’t being filled: a business aviation show to replace ABACE, which was held in Shanghai and ended its run in 2019 after Covid shut the world down in 2020.

I’m on my way back to the U.S. on a long United Airlines flight after spending three days at the new Business Aviation Asia Forum & Expo (BAAFEx) in Singapore. Even though it was a relatively small show with a three-airplane static display, it exceeded my expectations. I think it’s well on the way to replacing ABACE in a location that is business-friendly and easily reachable for visitors from Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia.

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