IT HAS BEEN a very exciting start to the year for news. We have held special Town Halls looking at tariffs and added sessions to our events in London, São Paulo and Dubai. Although the effect of tariffs themselves is fascinating, the bigger effect for business aviation may be market volatility.

“I had a meeting with a customer who said: ‘I was going to sign today, but since my shares fell, I just don’t think I can’,” says one OEM salesperson. “There is very much a pause.”

Because they have long backlogs, aircraft salespeople can genuinely say that if you place an order now, you are only getting the aircraft in two to three years. But distracted prospects rarely buy.

One area where demand is clearly rising is connectivity. It is not that long ago that people liked the fact that when they were flying no one could get hold of them. A long flight was an excuse to read a book or watch a film.

In this issue, working with Viasat, we polled more than 100 executives who regularly travel on business jets to get their views on what they want. Some 93% of them said it is essential or extremely important to have access to in-flight connectivity both for business and leisure uses.

This will not be a surprise – especially if you are reading this online – but choosing the right connectivity for your aircraft is now a major investment in its future value.

One of the things that makes business aviation so fun is that it is a truly globalised market. It is global because aircraft can fly between regions. But it is also very local. Importing or managing an aircraft in Brazil is a very different experience from selling one to a Texan buyer. In the cover story we catch up with some of the people leading the Asian-Pacific market.

Which takes us back to tariffs. The US-China counter tariffs may not be great for Chinese business aviation. But it is pushing business to other Asian countries. Leading aircraft operators in Asia are looking beyond their traditional strongholds to places like Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, with India seen as the “next China” given the rise in wealth and the infrastructure boom in the country.

As always, CJIQ is about People, Planes and Passion. So, we are delighted to start a new feature looking at passions outside work. In this issue, Jetcraft’s Jahid Fazal-Karim explains how motor racing helps him switch off. He drives as fast as the news is changing.