Vista sees stronger private aviation demand in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Vista's flight traffic in Malaysia rose 18 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2026, higher than the 14 per cent growth recorded across Asia Pacific.

Vista chief business officer Youssef Mouallem said the growth is supported by industrial activity in Malaysia and demand from business travellers seeking greater flexibility and shorter travel time.

"We see a big part of the industrial attraction in Malaysia. Business aviation has always been a tool for enabling business and we're seeing it come into play with that," he told Business Times in an exclusive interview recently.

Mouallem said private aviation demand in Malaysia is growing faster than the wider Asia Pacific market and he expects the trend to continue in the second half of the year.

"Malaysia is growing ahead of the region. That's year-on-year. We've seen an accelerating trend. So, expect this to continue and probably even accelerate further in the second half (of the year)," he added.

Vista is a global business aviation group operating VistaJet, which provides private jet services through its fleet and membership programmes, and XO, which offers on-demand access to about 2,000 vetted aircraft worldwide.

Malaysia is Vistajet's first market in Southeast Asia, having entered into the country in 2008 before expanding across the region.

Mouallem said that Southeast Asia remains an important market for Vista and serves as a link to Oceania.

"The growth rates are higher than our global average, so it's a growth market for us, and we continue to invest in that," he added.

Mouallem said XO provides access to a global marketplace of about 2,000 vetted aircraft, allowing customers to check aircraft availability and pricing before booking.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Vista also recorded strong traffic growth in several markets in the first half of 2026.

Singapore's flight traffic rose 58 per cent year-on-year, while flight hours increased 51 per cent.

Indonesia recorded 27 per cent growth, while Vietnam and the Philippines posted an increase of 64 per cent and 62 per cent, respectively.

Mouallem said Vista is also seeing younger customers entering private aviation, particularly in Asia.

About 47 per cent of Vista's new flyers in 2025 are below 45 years old.

"These are entrepreneurs. These are tech millionaires. These are AI and crypto players. There's a lot of that wealth coming into the industry," Mouallem said, adding that these customers are looking for flexibility, quicker access to aircraft and the ability to book closer to their travel date.

Vista's average booking lead time has fallen from about 14 days to nine days, he said.

"They want the flexibility. They don't want to commit early and they want the access," he added.

Another trend that Vista is seeing in Southeast Asia is the demand for regional and long-range business jets.

Mouallem said the Bombardier Challenger 600 aircraft remains in demand for regional flying, while longer-haul demand includes the large-cabin Bombardier Global 6000 and the Global 7500 aircraft.

Vista is also upgrading its Global 7500 fleet to Global 8000.

"We've completed 11 out of our fleet of 18, and the other seven will be done before the end of the year," Mouallem said.

On fuel costs, he said higher jet fuel prices have not had a significant impact on Vista's flying demand.

"I wouldn't say it's a concern. It's a dynamic that you have to deal with. We haven't seen a real impact on the flying trend or on demand," he added.

Mouallem also said further growth in Asia's private aviation market depends on improvements across the wider business aviation ecosystem, including service levels, governance and digitalisation.

"For the overall industry to thrive, you need the whole ecosystem to move forward. We'd expect all of the other players to really improve service levels, safety, and governance. There's a lot of grey market or parallel brokering, so that's something that does not necessarily help the industry."

"It allows access but it does not allow the industry to develop as a whole," he said, adding that greater digitalisation is needed across services such as flight planning, fixed-base operators (FBOs), onboard servicing and catering to provide a more integrated experience for customers.