Episode Details

India’s skies are getting busier—while China’s are quietly emptying. In this episode, we explore a sharp reversal in Asia’s private jet market, where China’s fleet has shrunk amid a property crash, zero-COVID hangovers, and a political crackdown on flashy wealth, even as India sees a full-blown boom. A new class of super-rich Indians is buying jets not to show off, but to get things done—flying frequently to remote business hubs where commercial travel falls short. We unpack what this shift says about power, politics, and prosperity in Asia, and why India’s private jet surge looks set to keep climbing unless the economy hits serious turbulence.

https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/07/24/the-new-private-jet-pecking-order