We have known it for years, but now its official. According to leading international market research company ACNielsen, Orient Aviation (OA) is by far the commercial aviation magazine of choice in its coverage of the Asia-Pacific region.
"Orient Aviation has significantly established itself as the leading commercial aviation magazine in the Asia-Pacific region. Readership penetration is as high as 97%. The magazine also leads over its rivals in regular readership (87%)," said the report in its findings.
Award winning OA has come a long way since it was launched as a quarterly magazine in October 1993. Two years later it became a bi-monthly and in February 1998 increased its frequency to 10 times a year.
Since then OA has added other popular products to its stable. Our Chinese language magazine, Orient Aviation China, designed for our Greater China readership, is now published four times a year.
The A380 Quarterly Update was launched in December 2004 to chart the progress of the 555-seat, double deck Airbus A380 – dubbed the airplane for the Asia-Pacific – from the coming together of the first aircraft in Toulouse, France, to its unveiling in January 2005, its first flight last April and its historic journey to the home base of the launch customer, Singapore Airlines.
Lastly, we now have a re-designed web site orientaviation.com online an interactive site that offers our comprehensive archive material, greater access to our monthly news and features, additional opportunities for advertising and a digital version of OA.
We also will offer a mirror version of all the editorial features of orientaviation.com in Chinese.
These are exciting times for the aviation industry in the Asia-Pacific. In November, as U.S. carriers battled with crippling losses and bankruptcy and the European airlines just began to see light at the end of the economic tunnel, the 17-member Association of Asia Pacific Airlines reported record profits – and these in spite of rapid fuel price increases!
But it has not always been that way. SARS, 9/11 and the Asian economic crisis of 1998 all severely tested the region's carriers, but unlike other airlines around the world the Asia-Pacific operators always bounced back in style. And OA was there to report it all. Good or bad.
And, according the ACNielsen survey, our readers like what they see in OA. Respondents perceived OA to be better than their rival magazines in providing the regional perspective, in accuracy and expertise on aviation-related topics, contents and insight, accessibility of information and the relevance of the magazine to the reader's profession. They also found it well written and enjoyable to read.
Of the respondents, 76% believed OA provided the best coverage of the Asia-Pacific aviation industry, 72% said OA had the best executive profiles and 66% believed OA had the best coverage of developments in the China aviation industry. OA was also well ahead of its rivals in coverage of aero-politics, airline development and performance, aviation development in India and supplier activities.
Oh yes, and while the ACNielsen survey found there was a high level of duplication of readers among OA's competitors, the research company said it was important to note that nine out of 10 readers of rival magazines also read OA.
OA has a BPA International audited qualified circulation of almost 10,000, of which more than 70% goes to aviation industry leaders and decision-makers in the Asia-Pacific.
Note: Respondents to the ACNielsen survey were asked to compare OA with monthly commercial aviation publications UK-based Airline Business and U.S.-based Air Transport World and the bi-monthly IATA magazine, Airlines International.
Chief Executive: BARRY GRINDROD
Barry has been in journalism for more than 35 years. He has held senior positions on national and regional newspapers in the UK, South Africa and Hong Kong. His first publishing project was the 1993 launch of OA when he identified a niche in the Asia-Pacific market. He has been based in Hong Kong for 20 years.
Australia-born Christine has been in journalism for over 30 years. She is a former personal editorial writer for media mogul Rupert Murdoch. In her many years with newspapers she has been based in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. She co-launched the magazine in 1993 and has been in Hong Kong for almost 15 years.
Tom started his newspaper career as a 16-year-old in Scotland. Based in Sydney, Australia, Tom has been writing about the travel and aviation industry for more than two decades.
Tom is one of the most respected aviation journalists in the world. He is a winner of many awards including the Royal Aeronautical Society's Aerospace Journalist of the Year awards. He has also been short-listed on two occasions.
Tom is a regular commentator world-wide on TV and radio and a respected moderator and speaker at major aviation conferences.
