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Making Trails in Asia (乐享亚洲天空) - An Exclusive Interview with Mr Luzi Matzig, CEO of AsianTrails

Published on Sat 8 Aug 2009, 11:45 Last Update: 1 year(s) ago by Meng Ng

Category: All Articles » Flying Journals

WOA Editor : Dear Mr Matzig, thank you for taking time and agreeing for us to interview you. This is part of a “WingsOverAsia’s Private Aircraft Owners’ Voice” initiative with objective to promote, encourage and share personal experiences on private and GA flying in Asia.

NOTE: A special exclusive BILINGUAL (CHINESE & ENGLISH) magazine edition of this WOA interview is contributed to and published in the Aug09 issue of Jet Asia Pacific Magazine and you can read the full magazine version of the article here - MAKING TRALS ACROSS ASIA

Country/City of residence: BANGKOK / THAILAND

Profession: Tour Operator, CEO of Asian Trails

Types of Aircraft flying: PA46, C210P,C340, C401, C421, C510 Mustang

How long have you been flying?: For 30 years

Could you share with us a bit about yourself and how long you have been in Asia and Thailand? I have been working in Thailand’s Inbound Tourism business since 1971. In 1999 I set up my own company – ASIAN TRAILS, which now has 560-plus staff with 26 offices in 8 countries in Asia.

Tell us a bit about what you and your company do? I am the CEO of Asian Trails, one of the leading Inbound Tour operators in Asia, with its head office in Bangkok. We take care of Individual tourists, groups and incentive movements from all over the world, concentrating on up-market European clients. In 2008 we served 440’000 customers in Asia.

How did it all begin?

When did you first get interested in owning a private aircraft? After my initial flight training with the Royal Thai Air Force Wing 604 at Don Muang Airport using the British CHIPMUNK tail wheel air craft back in the mid seventies I continued my training in the USA and Switzerland and eventually decided to buy a second hand Cessna P-210 in California, together with a Thai partner. We flew that plane to Thailand via the North Atlantic back in the pre-GPS days when often the best way of navigating was finding a strong commercial radio station somewhere ahead. After a few years I upgraded to a Piper Malibu which I flew to Thailand on a trans-pacific route, at that time with a Garmin 100 which did the job.

(If pilot) When did you get interested in flying? Where and when did you start learning how to fly a jet? I got interested in jets during a factory demo flight in Bangkok in November 2007 when Cessna started to promote its new C-510 Citation Mustang.

What lead you to decide to buy a jet? The stocks were going down the drain and whatever savings you had in the banks were worth less and less, month by month. So it made sense to invest in a plane which would keep its value or even appreciate in value over the years.

Where do you base your jet? I keep my Mustang at Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok.

Do you keep your jet privately or with a flight management company?

For the moment I keep my jet privately but I am playing with the idea of leasing it to Asian Aerospace Services Ltd. and let their pilots operate the jet commercially whenever I do not use it myself.

Above: Mr Matzig with business associates and friends from Singapore and Thailand

Business flying experiences:

Do you use your jet for business? We have plans to operate the Jet commercially in the future, offering air taxi services for VIP clients, arranging up-market package tours to regional destinations like Luang Prabang in Laos, Angkor Wat in Cambodia or Bagan and Mandalay in Myanmar for wealthy overseas tourists. We have already requests on hand for filming work throughout South East Asia.

If so, how often and for what purposes do you use your jet in business? Is it easy to get to places you want to whenever you want to? I use the jet for my own transport to touristic destinations in Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines. While it is easy to fly domestically in Thailand, to Malaysia and to Singapore, trips to Laos, Vietnam and China unfortunately still require a lot of paperwork, red tape and time.

If so, could you share with us, in your opinion, what are the pros and cons of operating or having a personal jet for business purposes? It is ideal to have a private jet as you then do not depend on the scheduled flights which are often irregular and at inconvenient times, especially to off the beaten track destinations in Indochina. On scheduled flights one wastes a lot of time queuing up for security checks and waiting at boarding gates, while such problems can be reduced to a minimum when using private air transport.

What is your personal view of the pros and cons of commuting for business by your own jet versus travelling by commercial airlines? Operating a private jet is always more expensive than using commercial flights but then – using your own plane is so much more convenient and fun.

Since you are a pioneer in a travel business in Thailand, would you consider merging leisure travel with a jet charter business? YES – we have already worked out some interesting package tours to Siem Reap, Yangon and Luang Prabang.

Above: Mr Matzig at the Seletar Airport apron, Singapore

Personal & Lifestyle flying experiences:

Do you use your personal jet for personal travel and leisure? If so, how often do you use? I use my jet both for fun as well as for business trips.

Where do you usually fly your jet to? Where is your favorite place to fly to? In Thailand my favorite destination is Phuket where I have my own villa on a secluded island called Ko Yao Noi, one hour by speedboat east of the airport, see http://www.theparadise.biz/hilltop-villa.html

In Laos I have another favorite hide away in Luang Prabang, a villa called Sunset House and located directly on the Mekong River, see http://www.mekongestate.com/uk/ban-saylom-sunset.htm

Both villas are fully serviced and available for rent to interested travelers looking for unusual destinations.

What would be the place you most desire to fly into with your private jet? In 2009 I plan two trips which are new to me, the first one visiting Paro in Bhutan in May and the second one flying to Macao, Hangzhou, Guilin and Sanya in China in September 2009.

Has jet ownership made a difference to your personal lifestyle? In what aspect has it made a difference? Owning a jet as compared to a fast piston airplane has not made much difference to me except that it is more interesting to fly a new aircraft with the latest avionics, G1000 in my case, and cruising mostly above the weather. As a pilot I like the feeling of having a bit more power at disposal with two jet engines which, however, burn much more fuel than a piston aircraft.

Is there anything you wish to do with the jet but yet to have an opportunity to do so?

Some day in the future, when I am less busy, I want to do a leisurely around the world flight with my Mustang.

Above: Mr Matzig piloting VIP jet, Mustang C510

Ownership Experiences:

What was your experience selecting & purchasing the jet? Did you encounter any difficulties or challenges? If so, what were they? I was looking for a twin engine jet with the latest avionics at a reasonable price and with a delivery date in 2008 for which there a few choices as most of the new very light jets are only available in a few years from now.

What were the criteria in your selection and purchase decisions? Price in the region of usd 3.0 Mio and delivery in 2008 plus single pilot capability.

How do you maintain your jet? Do you find it hard to find maintenance service support for your jet? Maintenance for a Cessna Citation Mustang Jet in Thailand is a problem as there is presently not a single licensed mechanic available and all servicing / repair work has to be done at Jet Aviation in Singapore, almost 3 hrs of flight time away from Bangkok. This is far from an ideal situation and I would strongly recommend to aircraft manufacturers like Cessna to make sure that when they sell an aircraft to a specific country they ought to make sure that servicing and maintenance is also available nearby.

Do you think SE Asia have a conducive environment for private jet owners? Private jets in South East Asia are still few and there is plenty of growth potential as such. Slowly but surely also the former communist countries who were always paranoid to have private aircraft entering their airspace, are warming up to the idea of allowing General aviation aircraft into their countries.

How do you rate support services for jet owners in the SE Asia region? Do you face any challenges and what would you like to see the industry do better if any? I strongly urge Cessna to open up a proper service center in Thailand, either on their own or in partnership with a local agent.

What is your rating and view of the FBO services in the region where you normally fly your jet to? I find it outrageous that the Singapore airport authorities are forcing operators of private jets to have a compulsory handling agent in places like Seletar as there is definitely no need for such stipulation. Nobody forces you to have a mandatory handling agent in places like Thailand or Malaysia or Myanmar etc. and such services ought to be optional, if desired by the owner or operator. During the closure of Bangkok’s airports in November 2008 I had to send two journalist friends from U-Tapao to Changi at night as Seletar closed for repairs and was then forced to pay an outrageously high handling fee of S$ 2’383.- for a two-minute transport of these two people in an old van from my aircraft to the terminal, a distance of 200 meters! I for sure will NEVER again land in Changi as obviously the Singapore Aviation authorities have not yet mastered the art of promoting General Aviation as such. On the one hand they pay commercial airlines for every passenger they bring into Singapore and at the same time they discourage General Aviation aircraft to visit Singapore by ripping them off with outrageously high charges.

What is the most important thing you have learnt from your ownership experience so far?

I learned the hard way that even brand new aircraft purchased from experienced companies like CESSNA are likely to encounter many teething problems which are unpleasant and costly to the owners.

Above: Night landing at Don Muang international airport, Bangkok, Thailand

General:

In your personal opinion, do you think private jet ownership and private jet flying will catch on in Asia? Why yes, and why not? I believe that there is a great potential for private jet ownership in Asia as distances are far, airports are many and regulations in the various countries are easing up slowly but surely allowing General Aviation to grow.

What words of advice would you have for other private individuals looking to purchase and own a private jet? I would strongly suggest to potential buyers of new Jet Aircraft to check first whether there is a service center available in your country for the type of aircraft you are buying as having the nicest plane is no fun when you have to fly it for hours to get it serviced in another country.

If there’s a dream jet you like to own, which would that be? For the moment I am pretty happy with my Citation Mustang but maybe someday I can afford a plane with a longer range.

If you have an opportunity to make a difference in the world of private jet ownership, what would that be? I would like to promote the idea of Governments allowing freer access to General Aviation aircraft throughout Asia at reasonable fees.

WOA footnote: Interested in chartering VIP Jets' Mustang or have your very own personal customised jet travel packages for Thailand and surrounding regions? Contact WIngsOverAsia.com and we have been officially authorised by Mr Matzig, VIP Jets & Asian Trails to provide the necessary coordination service for your desired once in a life-tome holiday by private jet.