IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, NG YEOW MENG SHARES HOW A CHILDHOOD DREAM HAS LED TO THE FORMATION OF THE REGION'S LEADING AVIATION CONCIERGE.
IN THIS EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, NG YEOW MENG SHARES HOW A CHILDHOOD DREAM HAS LED TO THE FORMATION OF THE REGION'S LEADING AVIATION CONCIERGE.
Barely 400m above the green canvas of Malaysia’s lush plantations, a red-streaked air- craft hurtles southwards at an exhilarating 320kmh – faster than most F1 racers will ever clock. The time: 11.26am. Four minutes before we’re shut out of Singapore.
“I apologise,” says our pilot, as he nudges the throttle again. “Singapore’s airspace is closing for the air show. There’s no room for negotiation – the authorities are very strict.” The Kodiak K100 bounces in mid- air, buffeted by thermals and air currents. Unperturbed, the man deftly outmanoeuvres them all. Minutes later, the plane pads down onto a runway in Seletar Airport. We’ve made it.
No sweat for our pilot, who happens to be Ng Yeow Meng, the man that business magnates trust with their planes. As the keystone in Asia’s tightly knit community of passionate flyers, the founder of private aviation concierge service Wings Over Asia is transforming the face of Seletar into both an ultra-luxe hub for Asia’s well-heeled aviators, as well as a top-notch destination for private flyers.
This all stems from Ng’s passion for flying, which began in childhood. The 42-year-old hops out of the cockpit, but it’s a grinning boy who helps us disembark. His cheer is infectious. Just minutes ago, my white-knuckled co-passen- gers were turning shades closer to the pale leather seats in the $2.5 million aircraft. It was Ng’s obvious enjoyment that kept them going.
“When I am flying, it’s like all my worries and stress are left behind on the ground. It’s just me and the plane. It feels like a true state of zen,” explains Ng, in the tranquil tones of a man who is living his dream.
Better still that he’s found a perfect blend of business and leisure, in a multi-billion dollar industry poised to be the next feather in Singapore’s cap. The $10 million, 72,000 sq ft headquarters of his lifestyle and concierge brand, Wings Over Asia, opens next month in Seletar Airport.
Getting to this point, how- ever, was a combination of luck, opportunity and dedication.
EARNING HIS WINGS
Ng never thought he’d be here. Flying had been a pipe dream for the eldest son of a vegetable seller and a factory worker.
“Back then, we could only dream of being an airline pilot or an air force pilot,” he reminisces. The family’s tough financial situation didn’t allow for private lessons. Even so, the young Ng began buying and assembling Tamiya model planes, despite the high cost of the spray paint. “I would slowly save for the paint. Some planes took a year to finish.”
His lucky break came only decades later at the age of 23, while he was in his first job at a General Electric aircraft engine plant in Ohio, the US. The engineering graduate took up a management trainee post in the software arm, and had to clear the grounds by 5pm each day due to his restricted security clearance as a foreign national. “So there was really nothing to do, right? There are cornfields and nothing else (in Ohio),” Ng says with a laugh. “Especially in the summertime, when the sun sets at 9pm. So I thought, okay, let’s go flying!” He drove right into a nearby airfield in the company car, filled out the paperwork for flying lessons, and at last took to the air.
“It was really cheap to do (flying) there,” he enthuses, rummaging through a sheaf of documents on his faux-leather desk, and coming up with a lam- inated 16-year-old receipt from an airfield. “Only about US$50 each time,” he says triumphant- ly, as though he’d found a steal.
After five months of twice-weekly lessons, he earned his pilot’s licence and the dream was essentially realised. He could have called it a day then, but the adventurer in him was just getting started.
THE FRIENDSHIPS
Ng eventually found that flying in Singapore was a whole dif- ferent ball game. He returned to Singapore in 2001 to set up a business consultancy, and wanted to resume flying. The aircraft usage and handling fees, however, were significantly higher, compared to neighbouring Malaysia. Ever the thrifty soul, he’d ride up the causeway on his Suzuki 125 motorcycle, weathering the elements to get his flying fix.
Over time, Ng befriended a scattering of like-minded aviators across Asia, who were in turn parts of loosely connect- ed social circles. Many were personable characters with fascinating stories. He cites the example of a Singaporean business owner who would fly to Ipoh solo, just to check on his mines.
Yet, there was a lack of a true community where everyone was aware of regional events, or could organise activi- ties. “Members of flying clubs in the region were simply buzzing around the airfields, then going home,” says Ng. “After a few years, this can get really stale and the flyers will think, ‘What do I do next?’ Flying alone is boring.”
Seeing a need to address this, he applied his computer programming knowledge to create a Wings Over Asia blog, which evolved into a Face- book-like social website where members could interact freely. Through this platform, the Wings Over Asia flying social network was formed, and it quickly grew by word of mouth. (Facebook, by the way, surfaced two years later, in 2006.)
“The site was the first step in breaking down geographical barriers among members,” says Ng, whose early efforts were focused on equipping the mem- bers to venture outside their home airfield. “Then, in the late 2000s, Wings Over Asia made a big push to organise flying tours and weekend getaways.”
Even new fliers joined in, as they felt safer flying in numbers to distant locations such as Hua Hin in Thailand. The community grew to over 1,000-strong, with up to a hundred very active members who frequented events.
THE OPPORTUNITY
As his network and Asia’s aviation scene grew, Ng turned his attention back to the lack of infrastructure on home ground, particularly in the private aviation support sector. While Changi Airport racked up acco- lades as a world-class airport, the range and level of services in Seletar remained stagnant.
Sensing a golden opportu- nity that was also closely linked to his hobby, Ng wrapped up his consultancy and established Wings Over Asia as a full-fledged business in 2009.
The company has since upped the luxe factor of private flights into Singapore. For example, his clients and their guests receive a red-carpet re-ception, then step into a BMW which ferries them to Customs. No more plodding around on the runway asphalt.
That same car sends them all the way to their hotel in town, which is crucial, consid- ering the lack of cabs typical in Seletar. In the meantime, Ng’s team expertly parks and main- tains the aircraft, readying it for its next use.
