Auckland to be headquarters for premium travel firm’s Asia-Pacific expansion
Tuesday, 14 July 2026
A global heavyweight has bypassed Australia, partnering with Kiwi private equity firm SO Capital to headquarter its Australasian and Pacific private jet operations in Auckland.
PrivatPort, a division of Swissport International AG, and SO Capital, a domestic private investment company, have announced a joint venture to provide high-end ground handling services for VIP passengers, flight crews and private jet operators in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.
PrivatPort operates through nine fixed base operations (FBOs) and is in more than 70 locations across four continents. Swissport International AG has been a big player in the aviation service sector for over 25 years.
SO Capital chief executive Shah Aslam said the partnership was the first of its kind in New Zealand, and it was significant that PrivatPort had chosen a New Zealand company ahead of an Australian one as its partner.
Read more:
“The partnership will bring together premium aviation heritage, regional insight and investment capability required to support demand and drive further growth in executive travel throughout the region.”
Having the partnership’s regional headquarters at Auckland Airport would consolidate the city’s position as a gateway to other parts of the country, and to the wider region, he said.
“The reality of private aviation is not just luxury travellers enjoying champagne and caviar, rather it is high net worth people coming to the country for multiple reasons ‒ from business to investment to tourism.
“There’s a direct link into the economy through Auckland being the largest centre in New Zealand, and Auckland makes sense at a starting point, and as the central operational command point,” he said.
“With hotspots like Queenstown and Wellington around the country and lots of business being done in them, it will allow us to filter from there down to the rest of the country where people need to go.”
The partnership will also see Air Napier, which is in SO Capital’s portfolio, become the first New Zealand FBO to join PrivatPort, and Aslam said they would be looking to sign up more regional FBOs in future.
“Our regions have a lot to offer to people, especially people coming from overseas, so we'll be having conversations with regional ports and main centres, and wherever the demand is, we'll try to be there.
“We want to work with those business operators, and bring them more business, which brings us more business. But it also gives us an opportunity to showcase New Zealand in a different light to the rest of the world.”
PrivatPort global chief executive Josua Hildbrand said demand for premium and executive travel continued to grow internationally, but a couple of regions stood out, and the Asia Pacific region was one of them.
The region was growing at a considerable pace, driven by mainland China and the rising number of high net worth individuals, and that spilled over into the Pacific region, New Zealand, and Australia, and beyond luxury travel, he said.
“In Europe and in the US, premium aviation is a tool to get to work or to factories, to remote places that are not connected by the commercial schedule to support business.
“I believe the same goes for the New Zealand and Australian regions as well. So it is capital to bring people into regions that are not as well connected otherwise.”
The growth in premium and executive travel was a trend that was continuing, and although it was not double digit growth, it was steadily increasing, he said.
While there had been double digit growth in commercial aviation over the last decade, Aslam said private aviation was different and more about high margin opportunities.
“Look at the opportunity that's walking through the doors of our building for the country: whether that's tourism where these high net worth people are dining in our restaurants, staying at our hotels, or business where they invest in our companies, and create jobs.
“If we can push that idea out there maybe people will start realising what the growth in this type of travel actually brings and means for the country.”
The partnership’s facilities in Auckland and Napier could be used for ancillary add-on work, including in civic emergencies if needed, he added.
“In Napier after Cyclone Gabrielle three years ago, for example, we did 72 movements for the Royal Air Force, and essentially became their base to clear movements and ensure supplies were coming in.
“So it’s not just about catering to private jets. We can also play a critical role if there ever is an emergency in some of these regions.”