After years of waiting for China to lift heavy restrictions on airspace, wealthy travellers and aircraft manufacturers have reason to celebrate — the country’s skies are opening up to private flights.

The makers of helicopters and small business jets are predicting a major bump in sales — France’s Dassault Falcon just moved its Asia office from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, which it called the new “centre of gravity” for the market.

The private air travel industry “will be one of the fastest-growing sectors in the next 10 years”, Frank Lee, chairman of China Private Aviation Company, a consultancy offering aircraft acquisition and charter services, told AFP.

Canadian aviation company Bombardier has launched the Global 7000 and Global 8000 two new large business jets.

The Global 7000 and 8000, which will cost about $65 million, will beat the high-speed range of the $58.5 million Gulfstream G650.

Both new jets will have a high-speed cruise of Mach 0.90; the 7000 will have a range of 7,300 nmi (13,520 km) at Mach 0.85, while the 8000’s range will top out at 7,900 nmi (14,631 km) at Mach 0.85.

Cessna Aircraft announced yesterday that it will build a larger, advanced version of its Citation X business jet, called the Citation Ten.

The new Citation Ten is scheduled to be in the air by late 2011 and delivered to the first customer in 2013.

The jet is 15 inches longer and will fly farther and carry more weight than the $22 million, eight-seat Citation X.

The Citation Ten will have a longer range and faster rate of climb speed than the previous model.

Singapore Airlines is to offer private jet transfer in Europe to passengers flying from Australia, the airline confirmed last week.

A partnership with Lufthansa’s Private Jet services will mean that passengers flying to one of Singapore Airline’s 14 European destinations will be able to continue their journey on a private jet to one of over 1,000 airports in Europe.

The model is almost exactly the same as PrivateConnect, the British Airways tie-up with CitationAir announced earlier this year which provides private jet connections in North America for passengers arriving on BA flights.

Getting a flight quote from Blue Star Jets is now easier and more accessible than ever after the company has launched a new mobile app for Palm, Blackberry, Android and iPhone smartphone users.

Blue Start Jets has created a network of charter companies that gives it access to over 4,000 aircraft worldwide, ranging from helicopters to Boeing business jets.

Blue Star does not manage or operate aircraft on behalf of their clients; however, the company assists clientele in finding the best operators for any aircraft.

Executive jets, the lofty domain of the world’s corporate elite, are being snapped up in Latin America’s booming market.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in Brazil, the regional powerhouse that boasts both a wealthy clientele for the winged status symbols, and a homegrown manufacturer, Embraer.