Bloomberg — Brazil’s only privately owned airport plans to double the number of hangars as demand for business jet travel booms.
Catarina International Executive Airport, opened in 2019, is a 14-minute helicopter ride — or 35-minute drive — from Sao Paulo and currently has 12 hangars with plans to eventually expand to 25, Managing Director Ronie Guimaraes said in an interview.
Owned and operated by luxury developer and mall operator JHSF Participacoes SA, Catarina handles domestic and international flights with a runway long enough to accommodate the biggest private aircraft. Almost 100 planes use it as their home base.
Brazil has the second-largest fleet of executive jets, trailing only the US, while Sao Paulo is among the top cities globally for helicopter traffic, according to JHSF. Built to rival other private terminals around the world like London’s Farnborough, Paris’ Le Bourget and Teterboro Airport near New York City, Catarina is seeing sustained growth after an initial surge caused by disruptions during the pandemic.
“In 2020, the global private jet market boomed,” Guimaraes said. “Everyone who had a jet started to use it more. Those who didn’t have one but had the resources started to buy one or lease.”
The airport makes money through hangar leases, fuel sales and short-term stays. Some clients pay a premium of as much as 40% to have their own hangar, which is often spread across a family or among friends. Guimaraes declined to comment on specific fees, but said they’ve been rising faster than inflation.
The airport operates 24 hours a day and handles large business jets that can cost $60 million to $100 million, including the Embraer Lineage 1000E, Gulfstream G650, Bombardier Global 7500 and Dassault Falcon 8X. About 90% of traffic is domestic and 10% international.
There are currently 1,200 flights per month at Catarina, with room to eventually grow to as many as 10,000, Guimaraes said. A new shorter runway for taxiing has been built to help control traffic.
Brazil has waiting lists for many aircraft, including those able to land on dirt runways that are popular with large farm owners, he said.
JHSF has agreements with manufacturers to provide maintenance on planes within the hangars, which gives owners another reason to use Catarina over options like the main international airport of Guarulhos, he said.
“We’re going to get to 80% of market share of long-distance heavy jets in Sao Paulo,” Guimaraes said. “Every 15 days, clients who have those aircrafts are going to Switzerland, the US, Paris, London, either for business or pleasure.”
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