BAAFEx Brings Shows Back To Asia

With the Asian Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (ABACE) deciding not to return after
Covid, Asia was left without a major business aviation show. True, there were smaller shows held in places like Guangzhou and Macau, and whilst they did manage to cover part of the loss of ABACE, the region was still left without a major show.

So up stepped Experia Events, the organizers of the Singapore Air Show, with a new dedicated business aviation show called BAAFEx – the Business Aviation Asia Forum and Expo.

Held in Singapore in early March, the first BAAFEx brought together more than 2,000 attendees from 56 countries and regions for three days of walking through exhibition halls and listening to forum panels. A small static display of aircraft was also arranged, with attendees being able to access the static display right outside of the exhibition hall.

As a first run event, many companies initially opted for a ‘wait and see how the first one goes,’ approach before committing to exhibit, but despite this the BAAFEx team still managed to attract a good number of companies to exhibit, including some of the biggest manufacturers and operators from around the region.

“The inaugural edition of the Business Aviation Asia Forum & Expo (BAAFEx) held on 4 to 6 March
2025 was a resounding success, bringing together a high-caliber network of sponsors, exhibitors
and trade visitors,”

said Leck Chet Lam, Managing Director, Experia Events. “Backed by strong industry support and quality participation from both regional and international stakeholders, the event exceeded expectations by spotlighting key focus areas such as sustainability, connectivity and long-range aircraft.”

The BAAFEx team arranged for three aircraft to be in the static display, with Vista showing a Bombardier Global 7500, Amber Aviation displaying a Gulfstream G450 and Dassault showcasing a Falcon 8X. Each of the aircraft could be visited by appointment, with all three aircraft remaining busy throughout the show.

For many, the highlight of the event all came from the Forum, which was arranged by BAAFEx’s partners Francis & Low.

The Forum sessions kicked off with a panel discussing, reviewing and forecasting the business fleet across the region. Three of the biggest aviation data suppliers, Asian Sky Group, Aviation Week and Cirium were asked to give a brief presentation, which was followed by a group discussion.

Asian Sky Group’s Consultancy Services Director Dennis Lau presented data from the year end 2024 Asia-Pacific Business Jet Fleet Report, which was released to BAAFEx attendees in printed form that morning.

Asian Sky Group was also represented by Sales and Business Development Director Justin Yeung, who joined a panel discussion focused on China’s business aviation market. Moderated by PBEC’s Michael Walsh, the panel also included representatives from Amber Aviation and Textron Aviation.

Unusually for a Forum during a business aviation expo, the Forum space was packed from the very first session, right the way through until the final session on the last day, with some of the more popular sessions seeing attendees unable to get seating.

Those attendees that couldn’t get into the Forum area packed around the edges of the area, and into the Expo area itself.

Although relatively modest, the Expo area was packed with some of the biggest companies in Asia-Pacific, with some companies opting for the ‘wait and see how the first one goes’ approach and opting for a smaller booth, whilst others decided to go all in and invested in a larger space.

According to Experia Events Managing Director Leck Chet Lam, all of the companies that exhibited during the first BAAFEx have already booked again for the next edition of BAAFEx, which will take place, again in Singapore, in April 2027.

“In view of the overwhelming interest in the aircraft displays at BAAFEx 2025, it will be expanded in future editions. With 100% rebookings and a significant number of new enquiries, BAAFEx 2027 is well-positioned for substantial growth. We look forward to delivering an even more impactful show in 2027,” said Leck.

Overall, the show was successful, beating the expectations of many. For a first run show, the organizers were able to not only put together a static display and Expo, but also a highly regarded Forum as well. And whilst it might seem flippant or even mildly disrespectful at first, the most common phrase uttered during the show by attendees was “It is better than I was expecting,” which not only shows that BAAFEx was a success, but also demonstrates that attendees are likely to return again for the next event.

Whilst the organizers of BAAFEx would most likely prefer not to have parallels drawn between itself and ABACE, it’s hard not to mention both in the same breath. And whilst nobody expected BAAFEx to be as big as ABACE from the very first iteration, many during the show believed that it had the right format and organization to grow in subsequent years.