ULTIMATE LUXURY: Potential buyers board a Gulfstream G550 business jet at a promotional activity in Ningbo on August 25 (CFP)

When Tan Jifang flies, he always chooses first class. Not yet a billionaire himself, he certainly hopes to meet one sitting next to him, to whom he can sell a Cessna business jet.

"I am in charge of selling Cessna business jets in China's southwest and wealthy people from this area really try to keep a low profile," Tan told West China Cosmopolitan Daily, published in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. To find potential customers, Tan has been following the release of every rich list and learning the richest people's looks by heart.

Li He is a senior salesman for Avion Pacific Ltd., a company in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, that sells helicopters and business jets manufactured by Hawker Beechcraft, McDonnell Douglas and Sikorsky on the Chinese mainland. He has tried his best to learn every detail about the lifestyle of China's super rich, especially the top 10 richest people in every province, whom he regarded as potential customers.

"Last year, our company sold 13 business jets on the Chinese mainland while this year's order book looks even more promising. We sealed two orders, both for three jets, at this year's Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition in Shanghai in March alone, which cost around 35 million yuan ($5.51 million) each," Li said.

As mature markets for private jets in Europe and North America remain lackluster due to the financial crisis, leading international makers of private jets are pinning their hopes for sales growth on a booming and embryonic Chinese market.

Robust growth

China's private jet market has enormous potential for long-term growth. Beijing-published newspaper International Herald Leader reported that only eight private aircraft were sold on the Chinese mainland in 2008 while the figure rose to 15 in 2009. Although the total number of registered private aircraft had spiked to 137 by the end of April, it was less than 1 percent of that of the United States.

Meanwhile, according to a survey conducted by the Hurun Research Institute and GroupM Knowledge, at the end of 2011 China had 63,500 people with a net worth of more than 100 million yuan ($15.74 million) and 13 percent of them had plans to purchase business jets.

The Wall Street Journal reported on May 27 that half of new orders for France-based Dassault Aviation SA's Falcon jets since the beginning of this year came from China.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. is a leading business jet supplier on the Chinese mainland. The company, based in Georgia, the United States, opened a business jet service center in Beijing earlier this year to provide repair, maintenance and overhaul services for its customers on the Chinese mainland. It is the first foreign manufacturer to do so.

An anonymous salesperson of business jets told West China Cosmopolitan Daily that as interior amenities designs are tailored to customers, many Chinese buyers require to have onboard mahjong tables or karaoke machines.

Bombardier, a Canadian manufacturer of commercial aircraft and business jets, told Beijing Review that the company has sold more than 75 business jets osn the Chinese mainland. "Our customers are mostly companies, high net worth individuals and charter operators. Traditionally, buyers in China have favored large aircraft, such as our Global aircraft range, for the range capabilities and large cabins, but buyers are increasingly interested in our Challenger and smaller Learjet aircraft as well," said spokeswoman Annie Cossette. Bombardier forecast in June that there would be 2,420 deliveries for China from 2012 to 2031 for all business jet manufacturers.

The already strong market demand for private aircraft has been further boosted by the rising popularity of private pilot training programs. Xinhua News Agency reported that only 20,000 people in China hold pilot licenses, less than 4 percent of those in the United States.

In July, 13 students graduated from the first private pilot license program in Xinjin Flight College under Civil Aviation Flight University of China, China's only full-time regular institution of higher education for civil pilots. These self-funded students include four people who have owned a jet and others who plan to buy.

The 200,000-yuan ($31,483), 50-hour class already attracted a fresh intake of 20 students, Liao Lunjin, a researcher and engineer at the college, told Global Times at the end of July. His college has six helicopters now and plans to rent five more in the first half of 2013 to meet rapidly growing demand.

In 2006, Deng Bin, a licensed pilot and a successful businessman from southwest China's Yunnan Province, purchased 60 single-engine Cessna 172 Skyhawks for more than 100 million yuan ($15.74 million) and loaned them to Guanghan Flight College of the Civil Aviation Flight University of China. Deng is building two business jet service centers in Kunming in Yunnan and Guanghan in Sichuan Province, which will provide a full range of services, such as maintenance, hangar storage and flight application, for nouveau rich top guns.

"There is a goldmine in pilot training and business jet service provision. General aviation is nothing but a sunrise sector in China," Deng said.