Download - MEBA Convention News 12_07_10

MEBA show’s surge heralds bizav recoveryby Matt Thurber

The fourth Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show is off to a strong start, with exhibitor numbers climb-ing more than 40 percent from 2008 and registered vis-itors topping the 7,000 mark, up from 5,500. But this could be the show’s last staging here

in Dubai for the time being, with plans being made to relo-cate the event to another prime location in the Arabian Gulf.

Alison Weller, managing director of show organizer F&E Aerospace, which is producing the show for the Middle East Business Aviation Association

(MEBAA), said 53 aircraft are on display in the static park next to the Dubai Airport Expo and MEBA is now the third larg-est business aviation show in the world, behind the annual NBAA and EBACE shows in the U.S. and Europe, respec-tively. This year, there are 338 exhibitors from 33 countries, up from 250 in 2008.

The business aviation mar-ket has climbed in the past two years, too, she said, with the Middle East fleet growing to 450 turboprops and jets, up

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A PUBLICATION OF

Dubai DECEMBER 7, 2010 Vol. 42 No. 29

• Rizon, Al Jaber and Comlux add ACJsMiddle East operators Rizon, Al Jaber and Comlux are increasing the size of the local fleet of Airbus Corporate Jetliners. 0

• Falcon owners offered new-look cabin optionsJet Aviation is introducing a trio of cabin makeover designs to freshen up the look of Dassault Falcon 2000 jets. The three options have been dubbed classic, fashion and style. Page 20

• Middle East FBO expansion boosts bizavNew FBOs are opening around the region to meet the demand for high-quality ground support, but soft traffic levels in some locations have put the squeeze on revenue streams. Page 21

• Dassault sees demand for jets bouncing backThe latest prognosis from Dassault Aviation for the business jet market in the Middle East points to a recovery in orders for new aircraft. Page 37

• Local charter market is now on the mendAfter being hit by the financial crisis, demand for private charter flights in the Middle East is bouncing back, but excess capacity and unsustainable rates are taking their toll. Page 42

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On the eve of the 2010 MEBA show, 53 aircraft had assembled on the static display here at the Dubai Airport Expo site. That’s slightly fewer than at the last event in 2008, but there is no shortage of novelty for show goers to enjoy, such as Embraer’s new Legacy 650 aircraft, two of which are being shown for the first time in the Middle East this week. Major manufacturers all agree that new aircraft sales are once again picking up, after relatively soft demand over the past year or two.

ExecuJet forges alliance in Qatar market hotspotby Charles Alcock

ExecuJet Aviation is to set up a new charter and air-craft management operation in Qatar in a bid to expand its footprint in the growing Middle Eastern market. Yesterday, the company sealed an agreement with Doha-based Al-Faisal Holdings, which will be its local partner in the new venture.

The business aviation ser-vices group has already begun the process to apply for an air operators certificate (AOC) in Qatar. The new ExecuJet Qatar operation should be up and running before the end of the first quarter of next year. The first aircraft in its new charter/management fleet is

expected to be a Bombardier Global 5000.

According to Mike Berry, managing director of Execu-Jet Middle East, the new oper-ation’s next step will be to build an FBO in Qatar. This will be located at the New Doha Inter-national Airport, which is due to open in July 2011.

“We have long been keep-ing an eye on Qatar as one of the next hot spots for business aviation in this region,” Berry told AIN. In addition to its long-established base in Dubai,

New jets flock to ME fleets

The Middle East’s busi-ness aircraft fleet is getting back into growth mode. As the 2010 MEBA show pre-pared to open, local manage-ment companies are expecting to bring new aircraft into ser-vice and there is strong possi-bility of further orders being announced in Dubai this week.

Yesterday, Doha-based Rizon Jet confirmed that it has been chosen to operate a new Airbus Corporate Jetliner on behalf of an owner in the Arabian Gulf region. This will be the largest

Continued on page 10 u

dubai set for jet jamboree


Airbus v-p executive and private aviation Francois Chazelle, left, and Patrick Enz, CEO of Rizon Jet.

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Market outlook sees recovery via diverse emerging marketsby Charles Alcock

Leading business aircraft manu-facturers are starting to take some encouragement from improving mar-ket conditions and more than ever are counting on emerging markets like the Middle East to give them the momen-tum the beleaguered industry needs to achieve a full-blown recovery.

However, according to the latest Bombardier market forecast figures, the Middle East shows less growth potential than most of the much-vaunted econo-mies of the so-called BRIC countries–Brazil, Russia, India and China.

In Bombardier’s latest projections, the Middle Eastern fleet will increase from 335 aircraft in 2009 to 730 by the end of 2019–representing a compound annual growth rate of 8 percent, which is lower than what the Canadian airframer sees for China (20 percent), India (13 percent) and Russia/CIS (11 percent). This level of growth is about the same as Europe’s, and more than that in the whole of Latin America and North America.

The market penetration rate for Mid-dle Eastern countries–as defined by the collective value of business aircraft deliv-ered here as a percentage of combined gross domestic product (GDP)–has remained relatively low, according to the Bombardier figures. It stands at just 0.22 percent in 2010, which is up only slightly on the 0.17 percent recorded in 2000.

Addressing Quaynote’s Future of Business Aviation Conference in Lon-don last month, Barry MacKinnon, Bombardier Business Aircraft’s direc-tor of market development, said the Middle East is a more mature market than the BRIC states. However, access to it for Bombardier and its rivals is far less impeded by issues such as regula-tory restrictions on operating aircraft and inadequate infrastructure.

Hawker Beechcraft also sees salvation in business aviation’s new marketplaces. “The drivers of demand are slowly and pain-fully returning,” said Sean McGeough, the U.S. manufacturer’s president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, refer-ring to improvements in GDP, the number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and their total wealth, and foreign invest-ment. “These factors are all stronger in the emerging markets,” he concluded, while maintaining that overall order backlogs for new aircraft are stabilizing (with fewer can-cellations and deferrals) as the preowned inventory starts to decrease.

At the same time, McGeough sees these emerging markets as remaining compromised in their ability to embrace business aviation. “The installed base [of business aircraft] in the emerging mar-kets is a tiny fraction of what you would expect it to be, based on the wealth there now,” he commented.

There are now more multimillionaires in Asia than in Europe–and especially in China, Hong Kong and India. However, while–at an impressive rate of 27 per-cent–the number of HNWIs is growing faster in the BRIC states than in other parts of the world, the figures for the Middle East are not as impressive. The number of billionaires in this part of the world has actually fallen from 83 in 2008 to 66 this year–with some of the disappeared or diminished plutocrats probably victims of Dubai’s spectacular financial crisis last year.

Cessna international sales vice president Trevor Esling shared in the cautious opti-mism. “Economies are stabilizing and the market in 2010 does look better, although compared with last year’s low level,” he commented. “Cancellations have stopped, new orders are coming in, aircraft utiliza-tion is up and companies are launching

new products again as buyers return.”Esling pointed to Egypt as a prime

example of one of the emerging market countries on which Cessna and others are pinning their hopes. “It is the third largest economy in the Middle East and while five years ago it had fewer than five aircraft, it now has more than 20.”

The seasoned global salesman takes the long view of the main emerging mar-kets. “When business aviation starts to achieve penetration in a market, people there start to slowly realize the alterna-tives [to airline service],” he concluded. “There is a lot of work to be done in the BRIC countries–first people need to get a taste for the product, then we have to ensure that enough aircraft are available there for them to try and there also has to be more infrastructure. Don’t bet on India and China yet–there are still more airports in the state of Alabama than in the whole of China.” o

Bahrain Hosts Bizjet Conference Next Month

Bahrain will host the Future of Busi-ness Jets in the Middle East conference next month (Jan. 25 to 26). Keynote speakers will include Ali Al Naqbi, chair-man of the Middle East Business Aviation Association, and Bahrain’s undersecretary for civil aviation affairs, Captain Abdulrah-man Al Gaoud.

Other scheduled speakers include ex-ecutives from business aviation services groups with operations in the Middle East, including Mena Aerospace, Gama Avia-tion, Comlux, ExecuJet, Al Jaber Aviation and PrivatAir, as well as Steve Jones, gen-eral manager of Abu Dhabi’s downtown Al Bateen Executive Airport. The event is or-ganized by Quaynote Communications and will be held at the Movenpick Hotel in Bahrain (www.quaynote.com). –C.A.

4aaMEBA Convention News • December 7, 2010 • www.ainonline.com

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The Middle East market isn’t quite as ripe for growth as are those of China, India and Russia, but that hasn’t stopped Bombardier from increasing its installed fleet in this part of the world, including this Learjet 60XR.

All the economic factors driving business aircraft sales recovery can be found here in the Middle East, according to Hawker Beechcraft, which builds this Hawker 900.

Cessna has made progress in important growth markets like the Middle East, with the help of its sales distributor in the region Wallan Aviation, whose chairman Saad Wallan (right) appears here with the U.S. manufacturer’s international sales vice president, Trevor Esling.

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Bizav forecasts are uneven, but they show steady growth by Ian Goold

Manufacturers and analysts agree that recent years have seen a vigorous increase in business aircraft operations in the Mid-dle East and that the region is generat-ing strong demand, even with other parts of the global economy stalled. How-ever, detailed projections of this growth and the size of the current and predicted future fleets vary.

According to Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) found-ing chairman Ali Al Naqbi, the number of private aircraft operated in the Arab world will increase from some 450 today to 1,300 by 2020, with the addition of around 800 in the next 10 years. By con-trast, Canadian business jet manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace said only 450 air-craft will be delivered in the period, taking the regional total to 730 at a compound annual growth rate of about 8 percent.

In the next five years, the Middle East and selected African regions will account for about 4 percent of the projected more than 5,000 new aircraft that is, approxi-mately 200 units needed for “traditional corporate and charter operator base,” said Honeywell. In its latest market fore-cast, published in October, the engine and avionics manufacturer sees “high”

confidence in intermediate- and long-term Middle Eastern economic growth. This will boost interest in larger, longer-range aircraft with better operating economics, said Honeywell (Stand C638), with more than 45 percent of prospective new Mid-dle Eastern customers principally looking for greater range.

About one in four operators surveyed are looking to replace older aircraft, while more than 20 percent cite requirements for greater speed or larger cabins. Nevertheless, the region has “concerns over new duty-time restrictions, noise, and [the] cost of regula-tory compliance,” the report indicated.

Having suffered much less from the recent global economic recession than did other geographical regions, the Arabian Gulf market and the broader Middle East

area are important for business aircraft manufacturers. For example, Embraer used last year’s international aerospace show here in Dubai to promote its entry-level Phenom 100, super-midsize Legacy 600 and Lineage 1000. The Brazilian man-ufacturer had had a much lower profile two shows previously, in 2005, when Embraer executive jets were much less well known and only the Legacy 600 was on offer.

This region is an example of a high gross domestic product (GDP) market-place with “money to spend on business jets,” said Embraer’s Middle East execu-tive aviation regional sales director Tony Fitzpatrick. For the Singapore-based Centre for Asia/Pacific Aviation (CAPA), Middle East business aviation is “one of the brightest spots” in the otherwise mixed fortunes of the global aviation sec-tor. “The double-digit economic growth achieved in the region over the past five years is leading to a sizeable and highly active business-aviation market, along with the infrastructure to support it,” the organization reported recently.

Between 2004 and 2008, the Mid-dle East recorded significant economic growth, at an annual average rate of 6.5 percent, largely due to the wealth created by high oil prices, according to Bombar-dier (Chalet A11). “The region entered the downturn in 2009 with significant financial reserves. Plummeting oil prices, tight international credit and the global economic slowdown contracted [local] real GDP by 0.2 percent,” it reported.

According to IHS Global Insight, the region is expected to have returned to positive economic growth in 2010, at an annual rate of 4.1 percent, driven by increasing oil revenues, and improving goods shipments to the European Union, its main trade partner. Looking further forward, Embraer (Chalet A15) foresees annual Middle East GDP growth recov-ering to about 5 percent during 2010-13, a modest decline from the 6- to 7-percent rate seen through most of the past decade.

Stimulated by such sustained recent eco-nomic growth, Middle East business avia-tion has expanded from 140 aircraft in 2004 to 335 at the end of 2009, an annual fleet growth rate of 19 percent. Bombardier sees the region becoming a significant contribu-tor to business aviation expansion.

“In the late 1990s, there was just a single business and VIP jet operator in the entire region–Lebanon-based Arab Wings,” said CAPA. By 2009, it reported, there were “approximately 25 operators, with this num-ber [expected to] double by the end of 2010, with dozens of applications for new oper-ators in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates [UAE] and Bahrain.”

Today, aircraft based in Saudi Ara-bia and the UAE account for half of the Middle East fleet, which grew by almost 100 business aircraft during 2007-09, said

Embraer, which has placed more than 20 Legacy 600s in that market. The more than 450 aircraft in the region registered with MEBAA (Stand E246) in 2009 will have increased to 500 by the end of this year, according to Al Naqbi.

Embraer puts the 2009 fleet at 342 busi-ness jets, while Bombardier numbers the fleet at 335, the majority of which are flown by (or for) wealthy owners or charter firms, and about a quarter of which are less than four years old. CAPA reported that the “regional business- and VIP-aircraft fleet swelled from approximately 200 in 2000 to almost 450 aircraft” by 2009, represent-ing annual growth of almost 13 percent. It confirmed that the UAE and Saudi Arabia

are “the major pillars of business aviation in the region,” and said “more than 65 per-cent” of their fleets are comprised of busi-ness jets and VIP aircraft.

Given the region’s economic and finan-cial profile, it is no surprise that larger corporate aircraft figure prominently. The Middle East fleet comprises mainly air-craft in “heavy-end categories,” according to Embraer, with about 43 percent clas-sified as “heavy,” 47 percent “medium” and 10 percent “small.” There is “prob-ably nowhere else [with] ‘heavy-metal’ fig-ures like this. There are a lot of big-sized aircraft. Smaller jets are not as popular. [Local operators] don’t like small cabins,” concluded the Brazilian manufacturer. o

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Asia North AmericaLatin AmericaMiddle East/Africa

Europe

200820092010

50%

58%

40%44%

55%

29%

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Age of Current AircraftMore Range Needed

WarrantiesUpdated Avionics

Bigger Cabin

More Range NeededAge of Current Aircraft

WarrantiesBigger Cabin

AC Resale Value

Age of Current AircraftUpdated Avionics

More Range NeededWarranties

Bigger Cabin

Bigger CabinMore Range Needed

Age of Current AircraftWarranties

Cabin Amenities

More Range NeededAge of Current Aircraft

Bigger CabinMore Speed

Warranties

North America

Europe

Latin America

Asia

Middle East/Africa

Percent

Despite growth and diversification in the Middle East market, the region’s fleet still comprises aircraft mainly in “heavy-end” categories, such as Embraer’s Lineage 1000.

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Reasons for New Jet Purchase by Region

Business Jet Purchase Expectations by Region

Source: Honeywell

www.ainonline.com • December 7, 2010 • MEBA Convention Newsaa5

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Jeddah FBO is key to Arabasco’s expansionby Charles Alcock

Arabian Aircraft Service Co. (Arabasco) is opening its new FBO in Jeddah this month. At

the same time, the Saudi Arabian business aviation services group is restructuring its operations

into six separate subsidiaries in a bid to attract foreign investment and partnerships that could see it expand beyond its home market.

The new 37,675-sq-ft, two-floor FBO is part of the first phase of the redevelopment of Jeddah International Airport. It consists of several separate lounges for passengers and a dedicated airside area for crew,

allowing them close access both to their aircraft and to support services, including flight plan-ning, crew airside snooze rooms and a crew lounge. Catering and dry cleaning will be available to pilots and flight attendants.

An extended ramp will dou-ble the amount of space avail-able for visiting aircraft. The Jeddah facility handled around

11,500 movements in 2009 but the ramp can fill up during busy periods such as Ramadan, when only 50 or so aircraft can be crammed into the space. At its four Saudi bases, the company claims to handle approximately 22,000 movements per year.

Arabasco operates FBOs in the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Medina and Yanbo. The company is now working with the country’s Gen-eral Authority for Civil Aviation on the design phase for a new facility at Riyadh. According to Arabasco CEO Mohammad Al Shablan, the volume of busi-ness aircraft traffic has tripled at Riyadh over the past five years, prompting construction of the new FBO to begin next year.

Having been in business for 28 years, Arabasco has seen its ambitions to grow (through fresh foreign investment and partner-ship) delayed by the global eco-nomic downturn. However, Al Shablan told AIN that there has been “a lot of interest” from outside companies.

Management and CharterIn addition to its FBOs, Ara-

basco (Chalet A4) is involved in aircraft management, charter and maintenance, as well as fuel sup-ply. It has allowed selected opera-tors to put their aircraft under its Saudi commercial air operator’s certificate, which includes a char-ter and management partnership launched with Abu Dhabi-based Royal Jet in July 2009.

In the maintenance sector, Arabasco has been an autho-rized service center for Hawker Beechcraft since April 2009, with capability covering the Hawker 800 and 900 jets, all HS 125 mod-els and King Air twin turboprops. It is also approved by Honeywell to overhaul the TFE731 fam-ily of engines, as well as provid-ing line maintenance for Boeing Business Jets, Dassault Falcons and Gulfstreams.

The company has ambitions to widen its maintenance port-folio but first needs to expand infrastructure. To this end, it is also laying plans to add another hangar at Jeddah.

Despite the high-profile growth in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia remains the jewel in the Gulf region’s business avia-tion crown. Numerous operators would like a piece of this mar-ket, and given the requirement to do this via a local company, Ara-basco is, at face value, well placed to strike new alliances. o


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Airbus corporate jets find favor in regionby Matt Thurber

Rizon Jet will manage and operate a new Airbus Corporate Jetliner for an undisclosed Ara-bian Gulf customer. The A319 ACJ is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of next year and the completion, to be done at AMAC Aerospace’s Basel, Switzerland headquarters, will be finished in the third quarter of 2012. The owner has selected Andrew Winch Design of Lon-don to design the ACJ’s interior.

This ACJ will be based in Qatar, but won’t be available for charter, according to Pat-rick Enz, chief executive of the Doha-based charter operator. Here at the MEBA show, Rizon Jet is located at Stand C310.

Airbus customers Al Jaber Aviation (AJA) and Comlux each brought Airbus corpo-rate jets for display at this year’s MEBA show static park. Abu Dhabi-based AJA is exhibiting here at Stand C300, and this is the first display of the compa-ny’s A318 Elite at an airshow. Comlux is displaying an ACJ and one of its A318 Elites, and Germany’s DC Aviation is here with an ACJ. AJA’s A318 Elite began flying charter trips four months ago from the compa-ny’s base in Abu Dhabi. Deliv-ery of the bizliner made AJA the first Middle East customer to offer an Airbus corporate jet for VVIP charter flights. AJA’s total Airbus orders include four A318 Elites (including the one already in operation) and two A319 ACJs. The company is the larg-est Airbus customer for charter aircraft in the Middle East.

Switzerland-based Comlux (Chalet A18) has an A318 Elite and ACJ based in Bahrain and is also one of Airbus’s largest corporate jet customers. In the charter marketplace, operators offering Airbus corporate jets for charter now number 12, and they are operating more than 15 Airbus aircraft.

AJA’s A318 Elite seats up to 19 passengers in a three-zone cabin, with a private office that can be converted into a bedroom. Cabin volume is 5,300 cu ft. For travelers, a major advantage of the A318 Elite is its baggage capacity, which measures 430 cu ft and is capa-ble of carrying 110 standard-size bags. The A318 Elite can fly up to 4,200 nm and has a maximum cruise speed of 460 knots, allow-ing the jet to reach any European destination from Abu Dhabi.

Each cabin zone offers enter-tainment system features, includ-ing the Rockwell Collins Airshow 4000 information display, power outlets, surround sound and DVD players. The satcom sys-tem comes with seven cordless handsets, and onboard wire-less Internet allows passengers to use smartphone data features in flight. In the galley, equip-ment includes a skillet, toaster, convection oven, microwave and full bar. Two lavatories are avail-able for passengers, in the mid-cabin and aft VIP cabin zones, plus there is a separate forward lavatory for crewmembers. The mid-cabin lavatory is an optional feature for the A318 Elite.

“It’s been four months that we’ve been operating the Elite,”

said Mark Pierotti, chief oper-ating officer for AJA. “It’s been a great aircraft. It’s the right air-craft for the Middle East, because of its cargo, because of its range, because of its cabin.” AJA offers a special level of service called Your Private Airspace, which Pierotti described as “bespoke travel. We design the journey around the customer’s needs.” This includes all aspects of the trip, down to such details as hiring a “sky-nanny,” providing children’s mov-ies on the entertainment system for a mother traveling with chil-dren and catering calibrated to the customer’s dietary needs.

AJA selected the Airbus A318 Elite and also the Embraer mod-els that it operates after holding a contest among four different manufacturers’ products. AJA operates two Legacy 600s and one Lineage 1000 and will take deliv-ery of a second Lineage 1000 next week, supplementing the compa-ny’s growing Airbus fleet.

ACJ Fleet SwellsBy the end of the year, Air-

bus will have delivered 16 corpo-rate jets for 2010, including three A318 Elites, eight ACJs, three A320 Prestiges and two A340s. “Airbus still leads at the top of the market,” said Francois Cha-zelle, Airbus vice president exec-utive and private aviation.

Next year, the first VVIP A380 will come off the assembly line and fly to the completion center (still undisclosed), where a two-year completion job will be done for new owner Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud. The A380 interior covers a massive 5,920 sq ft, 30 percent more than that offered by Boeing’s new 747-8, accord-ing to Airbus. Airbus has sold 170 corporate jets thus far and more than 100 have been deliv-ered. More than 110 of the sales

are A318 Elites, ACJ and A320 Prestiges and the remainder are widebody Airbuses.

Airbus announced recently that the A320 will undergo an engine update and addition of “sharklets” (small winglets) as part of the A320 new engine option (NEO) program, mod-ifications which could eventu-ally be offered on the all of the ACJ models. Powered by either a CFM International Leap-X or Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofan, the A320 NEO would burn 15 percent less fuel with both the sharklets and new engines, and deliver a 500-nm range improvement or 4,400-pound payload increase. Entry into airline service is expected in early 2016, and after that the NEO options will likely be offered to the corporate jet mar-ket, if the benefits prove attrac-tive to customers. The sharklets

will also be offered as a stand-alone option, with a 3.5-percent improvement in fuel burn.

Another option for the corpo-rate jets will be Airbus’s runway overrun warning and prevention system, which is standard on the A380 and will be standard on the A350 XWB. “That is unique in business aviation,” said Cha-zelle. The overrun system will be available at the end of 2012, and then Airbus will consider offer-ing the brake-to-vacate system as an additional option. Brake-to-vacate helps Airbus operators land and stop most efficiently for a preferred runway exit point.

“The A318 Elite, ACJ and A320 Prestige continue to improve,” said Chazelle. “We’re investing in the programs on an ongoing basis. We have allocated budgets to bring innovations to our aircraft which will increase performance and safety.” o


The A318 Elite seats up to 19 passengers in a three-zone cabin, with a private office that can be converted into a bedroom. Each cabin zone offers an entertainment system.

ExecuJet forges alliance in QataruContinued from page 1

ExecuJet Aviation (Stand C418) also has operations and offices in Switzerland, Ger-many, Denmark, the UK, France, Russia, South Africa, Mexico, China, Malaysia,

Australia and New Zealand. The group provides aircraft management and charter, as well as maintenance, handling and sales support.

Al-Faisal Holdings is a pub-licly listed company in Qatar. It has diverse interests in areas such as construction, property management, hospitality and education. o

CONTINENTAL RULEd RESPONSIBLE FOR CONCORdE CRASH

A Paris court ruled yesterday that Continental Airlines was “crimi-nally responsible” for the crash of the Air France Concorde in July 2000, which killed 113. The court fined the airline €200,000 ($268,000) and ordered that it pay Air France €1 million ($1.34 million). A Continen-tal mechanic was given a 15-month suspended sentence, while another mechanic and three French officials were cleared. The court backed the French investigation that concluded a strip of titanium that fell from a Continental DC-10 set in motion the sequence of events that led to the crash. Continental disputes the findings and is expected to appeal. � o

ExecuJet is expanding its footprint in the Middle East with a new operation in Qatar. It intends to build an FBO along the lines of this one in Dubai.

The Gulfstream G450® is the best business jet in its class. What’s more, the large-cabin, long-range aircraft shares some of the advanced technology of the Gulfstream G550, while also retaining the qualities of the highly successful GIV/GIV-SP series. And that was the best-selling aircraft in its category.

Let the journey begin.

Let the journey beginLet the journey begin

www.gulfstream.com/g450To learn more, call Ruedi Kraft, Regional Vice President, Middle East and North Africa, at +41 52 317 4305, e-mail: [email protected].

10_09974_MEBA_AIN_12-7-10.indd 1 11/9/10 9:35:12 AM


MEBA surge heralds recoveryuContinued from page 1

from 359. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have the largest numbers of business air-craft, with 157 in each country. In the UAE, that number was 78 two years ago.

“There’s going to be a huge increase in the number of regional buyers and [busi-ness aviation] users visiting the show,” Weller said. “Through the work of MEBAA and the event that we host every two years we’ve helped to create awareness of business aviation in this part of the world.”

Some highlights for this year’s MEBA show include the first appearance here of the Embraer Lineage 1000, which was the first such jet delivered in the Middle East when it entered service last year for H.E. Saeed Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, chairman of Al Fahim Group of Abu Dhabi. The Lineage is managed by Prestige Jets.

“Another growth market and very new since the last show is the expansion of commer-cial airlines into business avia-tion,” Weller said, “particularly here in the Middle East. Three are exhibiting: Saudia Private Aviation, Qatar Executive and Lufthansa Private Jets.”

Another good sign, she said, is that a large portion of the more than 15 FBOs exhibiting at MEBA are from the Middle East. “Without these [FBOs], owners and operators would have many more hurdles to cross in order to fly around this part of the world.”

Weller credits the work of organizations like the National Business Aviation Association, the General Aviation Manufac-turers Association and MEBAA with communicating how valu-able business aviation is to com-panies of all sizes and not just the senior management but for employees of all levels.

“This industry is known for its heights of luxury,” she said. “But it’s easy to forget or dis-miss the use of business air-craft for medevac operations, such as organ transplants, for all those communities that have lost their airline service and are reliant on the charter ser-vices as their only option and for those devastated by natu-ral disasters, when these air-craft can be called upon to have the flexibility to help out on a moment’s notice.”

The rapid growth of MEBA could mean that the show will appear at a new venue two years from now. The dates for the next show are Dec. 11 to 13, 2012, but the venue has not yet been finalized, according to Ali Al

Naqbi, founding chairman of MEBAA. “MEBA was born to move around the Middle East,” he said. “We are very grateful to Dubai for hosting our first four and maybe the fifth one. As soon as we have the right venue and the right place and after get-ting approved, we will be mov-ing. So far we haven’t seen better than our current venue. And

that’s why we continue hold-ing it here. We have a couple of requests and are evaluating those requests.”

Though not officially con-firmed, Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport is widely viewed as the front-runner as the next venue for MEBA. The airport is being extensively rede-veloped and benefits from a city center location.

Al Naqbi is thrilled about this year’s MEBA show. “I think it’s growing very well,” he said, “and we do have a very good response.” MEBAA itself has grown substantially, beginning in 2006 with six members, now with 155 aircraft operators, sup-pliers and affiliate members.

The economic downturn did not spare the Middle East, Al

Naqbi explained. “Our region and the UAE do not live in a vac-uum. We are part of the interna-tional market and situation. So, yes, we have been affected.”

The primary effect was that flying activity declined during 2008 and 2009, he said. “It’s coming back; it’s going upward and we see a lot of good num-bers.” Middle East aviation authorities are helping business

aviation by reducing the time needed for approval of over-flights. “We do have a lot of challenges still going on, but it’s moving to the right direction. We are working closely with the authorities and the countries to be able to jointly work as a union in providing the flyover gateway on a long-term basis.”

MEBAA is also work-ing with authorities on reduc-ing the lengthy time needed for aircraft operators certifi-cate (AOC) approvals. “We are working closely with them by showing the authorities that every operator that can obtain the IS-BAO standard should have no problem from the stan-dard and the safety point of view,” Al Naqbi said. “I agree, the AOC takes some time, but hopefully in the future it will take much, much less.”

Overall, Al Naqbi is confi-dent that business aviation will continue to grow in the Middle East. “Our associations work closely together to make sure that we support each other in a most positive way,” he said. “I’m grateful for the govern-ments in the Middle East for clearly identifying the role for business aviation, which pre-viously was offered only for luxury and high-net-worth indi-viduals. Now everybody knows it is a business tool. So we are very grateful for that.” o


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RotoRcRaft goes solo at jet show

This Bell 429 is the sole helicopter on display at this year’s MEBA show, but vertical takeoff makes a lot of sense as a mode of transportation for short hops between congested locations like Dubai and its neighbor Abu Dhabi.

New jets flock to Mideast fleetsuContinued from page 1

aircraft to date in the opera-tor’s fleet, which currently con-sists of six jets, including one operated by its UK-based part-ner Oryx.

Today, another operator with a base in the Middle East is expected to announce a deal to purchase one each of Bom-bardier’s new Global 7000 and Global 8000 long-range jets. These will be operated on behalf of undisclosed manage-ment customers.

In other anticipated news here this week, a third local man-agement company is expected to announce an expansion to its management fleet. The likely addition will be another Embraer Legacy 600.

Rizon Jet CEO Patrick Enz told AIN that the company is going to great lengths to run its operation to the most rigorous European standards for safety and quality. “We are doing this very carefully because we want to ensure that our

procedures are absolutely per-fect,” he said. “We don’t want to expand before we are con-fident; we are careful but have firm ambitions.”

The privately owned Qatari company now has 72 employ-ees–55 in Doha and 17 at its new facility at London’s Big-gin Hill Airport. By the end of 2011, it expects to increase this to a staff of 162. In addi-tion to the Bombardier Global Express operated exclusively for the use of its chairman, Rizon also flies two Challenger 605s, a pair of Hawker 900XPs and a Premier IA.

According to Enz, use of the charter fleet has increased in recent months to the extent that Rizon has been able to raise previously suppressed flight-hour rates. He said the Chal-lenger 605s are currently flying to as much as 90 percent of their monthly capacity.

One of the 605s is being operated in Kazakhstan under a six-month contract with local company Prime Avia-tion. The partners are cur-rently negotiating to extend this agreement. –C.A.

F&E Aerospace managing director Alison Weller (left) was upbeat about the MEBA show at a press conference yesterday with MEBAA group chairman Ali Al Naqbi.

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Charter brokers seek partners in JetCard plan

Air Partner is looking for additional partners here in the Middle East to help boost its newly launched JetCard in the region. At October’s Business Travel Show in Dubai, the UK-based charter brokering group added the Middle East as a third service area for its JetCard block charter program,

which is already established in Europe and the U.S. As a charter broker, Air Partner arranges flights with operators of charter aircraft.

Middle Eastern customers can now buy JetCards covering 25 flight hours in aircraft operated by companies approved

by Air Partner for travel within

the region. Since last year, they have been able to buy

cards covering trips within the U.S. and Europe using Air Partners’ existing U.S. and European Cards, respectively.

The new Middle East JetCard guaran-tees that aircraft will be available at fixed flight hour rates within 48 hours’ notice. The rates are all inclusive, with no sur-charges for ferry flights, fuel or airport fees.

For the Middle East region, 25 hours are available in three aircraft cabin sizes (see box). The European JetCard, launched six years ago, offers these aircraft sizes plus very light, light and super midsize jets; similar aircraft are also available in the U.S. market.

JetCard holders can switch between larger and smaller aircraft, deducting flight-hour credits on a pro-rata basis. There are no restric-tions for flights on peak days, and round-trip flights qualify for a 15-percent discount.

Air Partner claims its program is the most flexible block charter offering on the market. Unused flight time can be refunded and the credits never expire.

The Middle East service area encompasses Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, the King-dom of Bahrain, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Additionally, the card includes excep-tional destinations such as Tehran and Esfahan in Iran, and Kabul in Afghan-istan, for flights to or from the Middle East service area.

“Demand from clients worldwide, and the significant improvement in the quality and quantity of private aircraft available for charter in the Middle East over the last 12 months, prompted us to expand our JetCard offering,” said Kevin Ducksbury, Air Partner’s Dubai-based director of Middle East and Asia. The company is also marketing the card to travel-ers from outside the Middle East who want to undertake multi-destination trips within the region.

Air Partner, which has an office in Dubai, has already signed up MENA Aerospace to promote the char-ter package in Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The two companies are jointly exhibiting here at MEBA (Stand E210). –C.A.


Kevin Ducksbury, Air Partner’s director of Middle East and Asia

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ME clients swell rolls of fuss-free registerby Charles Alcock

Middle Eastern clients are the largest group of aircraft owners joining the world’s fastest growing

aircraft register: the Isle of Man. The offshore tax haven located in the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland formed its own register just over three years ago and more than 300 aircraft have flocked to its jurisdiction. The register, des-ignated by its M tail-number, is intended for professionally flown jets and twin-turbine helicopters.

The Isle of Man government has sought to offer a combina-tion of user-friendly, bureaucratic flexibility and a credible regula-tory structure with technical stan-dards based on those of the UK. The register is open to aircraft operated under private rules, but not those offered for charter. It is the only dedicated business air-craft register in Europe and the continent’s only offshore regis-ter, offering a favorable corporate and personal tax environment.

Charterhouse Lombard Avia-tion Services (Stand E270), a cor-porate service provider, is here at the MEBA show to explain how it can help aircraft owners com-plete the process of joining the Isle of Man register and the asso-ciated financial and corporate planning. The company is hosting Isle of Man director of civil avia-tion Brian Johnson at its exhibit. Also present are Charterhouse director Chris Broadhead and the managing director of its Dubai office, Richard Smith. o


Swiss center completing 777 for Jeddah firm

Bizjetliner completions spe-cialist AMAC Aerospace has begun work on its first widebody VIP conversion. Last month, the Swiss company received a green Boeing 777-200 LR to be completed as a luxury transport for Jeddah-based aircraft man-agement firm Aviation Link.

The twinjet, scheduled for delivery in 2012, was flown from the airframer’s Everett, Wash-ington factory to AMAC’s facility at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg. The work will be undertaken in the com-pany’s new hangar, opened on December 2, which can accom-modate jets up to the size of a B747-8, simultaneously with a BBJ or ACJ, and can be extended to house an Airbus A380. o

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Embraer’s Legacy 650 delivers extra rangeby Charles Alcock

For most of the Middle East business aviation community, this week’s MEBA show will be a first chance to see Embraer’s new Legacy 650. The Brazilian airframer expects the recently certified model to do well in this part of the world because it meets local preferences for both a spacious cabin and flexible intercontinental range.

Embraer has brought its Leg-acy 650 demonstrator to Dubai. It also has just delivered the first example of the new aircraft to a Middle Eastern customer. It will be operated by Jordan-based charter operator Arab Wings on behalf of an undisclosed Jorda-nian customer.

With nonstop range of 3,900 nm, the 650 can fly 500 nm far-ther than the original Legacy 600, which has sold well in the Middle East, with 20 already operating here. Embraer recently proved its reach by flying 10 passengers from Dubai to London in the demonstrator that can be seen here on the MEBA static line.

“The 650 won’t cannibalize the market for the 600 because its extra range simply opens up new routes,” said Claudio Camelier, vice president for market intelli-gence with Embraer’s executive aviation division. He explained that the new aircraft could con-nect key markets such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to London year-round–regardless of prevailing head-winds that can sometimes restrict the 600. Both the Legacy 600 and 650 also offer strong hot and high performance, allowing them to cope with temperatures that can hit 50-deg C (122-deg F) in this part of the world.

The 650’s significant increase in range was accomplished through extensive airframe mod-ifications, such as reinforced wings and landing gear, larger fuel capacity and new highly effi-cient and more powerful Rolls-Royce AE 3007A2 engines. Its cockpit features Honeywell’s new Primus Elite avionics suite, which is being made available on new-production Legacy 600s.

Embraer claims that the 600 and 650 boast the largest baggage cabin on any business aircraft that can be accessed in flight, with the exception of its Lineage 1000 widebody, which is also on show here at MEBA. The Bra-zilian airframer is also exhibiting

the new Phenom 300 light jet in a bid to convince Middle Eastern customers that smaller business aircraft can have value.

Embraer is also seeking accep-tance for the new Legacy 450, which sits between the 600 and the Phenoms in its product port-folio. “The Legacy 450 is an ideal regional airplane for the Middle East,” Camelier told AIN. The aircraft seats just six or seven pas-sengers, but, claims Embraer, it does so in considerable comfort by having a wider cabin cross-sec-tion than most aircraft in its class, while also being the only one with a flat floor. The manufacturer sees it being adopted for both charter and corporate operations.

Camelier acknowledged some slowdown in demand for aircraft among Middle Eastern custom-ers over the past two years as the impact of the economic crisis has been seen, but he argued that this factor has been less pronounced than in other world markets. More recently, Embraer’s sales force has seen signs of recovery, and on this basis the company has revised upward its forecast for deliveries over the next 10 years from 300 jets to around 350.

“The Middle East is a region characterized by high wealth con-centration, and despite the crisis, the high-net-worth individuals are still very rich,” said Camelier. “The main factor here was the uncertainty and Dubai was one of the most affected places in this respect. Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia were not effected as much.” New growth in demand has been seen in countries such as Jordan, Kuwait and Egypt.

Embraer already has about 25 Legacy 600s operating in the Mid-dle East, as well as four Lineage 1000s. It expects to deliver the first Legacy 650 in this region immi-nently, along with two more Lin-eages to arrive before year-end.

According to Embraer, the Lineage has twice the cabin size of its direct competitors. While its range limits are lower, it can fly nonstop from the Mid-dle East to Europe. To reach North America, like its rivals, it requires one stop and so is at no disadvantage in this respect.

Last month, Embraer made the first delivery of a Phenom 100 very light jet to India. The air-craft was the first of 18 ordered by Mumbai-based charter oper-ator Invision Air Services. o


Nexus opens two flight ops centersBusiness aviation support

group Nexus has established two new flight operations centers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Bah-rain. The new facilities are using the latest version of the Aims software to manage all aspects of flight dispatch and planning, aircraft and crew scheduling, and flight support.

Nexus, which is a subsidiary of the MAZ Aviation group (Static Display OD3), also has launched a new joint ven-ture with FlightSafety Interna-tional (FSI) to provide training for aircraft dispatchers in the Middle East. The training will be provided by FSI instructors at Nexus’s facilities in Jeddah and Bahrain and graduates will receive the U.S. company’s air-craft dispatch certificate.

According to Nexus president and CEO Abdullah Al-Sayed, companies that don’t have an effective operations back office find it hard to meet the com-mitments that their sales people make to charter and management clients.

Integrated ServicesAl-Sayed was formerly direc-

tor of flight operations with Saudi Arabia’s National Air Services and its partner NetJets Middle East, before taking on a similar role at Abu Dhabi-based Royal Jet. At the latter company he set up a new-style flight operations center in which all aspects of operational management and customer ser-vices were integrated, and it is this approach that he is seeking to take to another level through Nexus.

The company’s twin oper-ations centers in Bahrain and Jeddah completely mirror each other in terms of technology and infrastructure, with dual power lines and Internet connections. This provides redundancy in the

event of serious disruption or technical failure at one location. The Nexus server is hosted by the highly-secure Dryden com-pany in the U.S.

The Nexus set-up includes a global concierge team to make arrangements, such as book-ing hotels and ground transpor-tation for passengers and crew on a complimentary basis. The company has just set up a satel-lite concierge operation in Egypt and now plans to add one in Hyderabad, India.

Specialist TrainingTeam members, regardless of

their previous experience, have to undergo 120 hours of spe-cialist training before they start work. Schedulers and flight planners have to do 180 hours of training.

“We are like an aircraft man-agement company but without the AOC [air operations certif-icate],” Al-Sayed explained in support of his contention that the Nexus approach to run-ning flight operations is more

comprehensive than that of flight planning and support competi-tors. “We provide the flight oper-ations standards of an airline to private operators at a fraction of the cost.”

Nexus’s goal is not to render operators’ own flight planning departments redundant, as is demonstrated by its move to pro-vide dispatch training with FSI. “We want to be a facilitator for customers, not a threat to them,” Al-Sayed told AIN. He said that there is still a shortage of expe-rienced flight operations special-ists in the Middle East.

To underpin its commitment to high safety standards in flight planning, Nexus has recruited professional pilot Alastair Scott to oversee its flight operations teams. Scott is also a lead audi-tor and evaluator for IATA’s operational safety audits. –C.A.

Nexus president and CEO Abdullah Al-Sayed (right) has set up twin operations centers in Bahrain (below) and in Jeddah. They mirror each other in technology and infrastructure, and include concierge services.

Embraer’s Legacy 650 demonstrator recently flew 10 passengers from Dubai to London.

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Jet Aviation doing first 747-8 VVIP interior by Charles Alcock

Jet Aviation’s completions center in Basel, Switzerland, has become the first in the world to sign a contract to design and install a VVIP cabin interior for the new Boeing 747-8 airliner. The deal–with an undisclosed Middle Eastern client–was sealed last week.

Boeing is due to deliver the aircraft to Basel in early 2012 and the completions work should be completed within 24 months. To date, eight private/executive ver-sions of the new-generation 747 have been ordered; completions contracts have yet to be awarded for the other seven.

According to Jet Aviation president Peter Edwards, the contract award validates the company’s decision to invest in technology and training for the 747-8. This will be the first widebody program for which Catia and Smarteam, a 3-D design software program for mechanical engineering, will be used for the engineering, pro-duction and data management requirements of the entire com-pletions process.

The 747-8 cabin will fea-ture advanced entertainment and communications systems. Edwards noted that there are fast-moving areas of technol-ogy, and Jet Aviation’s task is to identify and select “executable” systems. “We stay out of the gimmicks because we want high reliability,” he explained. “You can build great complexity into these systems but we try to avoid complexity and ensure that we

have robust systems.”Jet Aviation’s in-house design

team will be drawing up the plans for the interior. The Basel operation will also build a full-size mockup of the aircraft inte-rior so the client can experience the cabin before making final decisions about the design.

Meanwhile, Jet Aviation recently signed contracts to provide interiors for a pair of Boeing Business Jets BBJ3s that have been ordered by two undisclosed customers in the Middle East. Work on the first aircraft has already begun and the second BBJ3 is due to arrive in Basel during mid-2011. Jet Aviation (Stand C700) is han-dling the design work for one of the two aircraft.

The cabins of the two nar-rowbody airliners will include living and dining areas, as well as private bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. The comple-tions work for each aircraft is expected to take around 12 months. In addition to the two BBJ3s for Middle Eastern cli-ents, Jet Aviation recently won orders for two more narrow-body completions.

“The sheer variety of design styles in recently delivered and signed aircraft shows how well Jet Aviation can tailor solutions to meet our client’s needs,” said Elisabeth Harvey, Jet Aviation Basel’s interior design manager. “Whether customers are seek-ing completion of a charter air-craft with high-capacity seating intended for a high-volume use,

or a highly tailored interior indi-vidually catering to a custom-er’s specific needs, Jet Aviation is committed to providing the highest quality solutions to our customers.”

Work-Flow ChallengesAccording to Edwards,

demand for completions at the top of the business jet mar-ket has remained strong. “The challenge is to maintain an even flow of work with such large projects with distinctive char-acteristics,” he told AIN. “We are finishing a number of larger projects [at the Basel facility] over the course of 2010 and into the first quarter of 2011. Then a new wave of projects comes in and we are ramping up for a constant flow of work from the second half of 2011.

“What we saw in the down-turn was mainly delay with large aircraft projects in the process of being agreed to [when the financial crisis started],” he said. “Outfitting decisions got moved downstream and we lost some time because people were preoc-cupied with other concerns.”

Meanwhile, there have been concerns about development and production slippage for new airliner programs such as Boe-ing’s 787, for which a number of VIP versions are on order. Edwards added that the 747-8 program is “stable.”

Jet Aviation’s overall busi-ness aviation services growth is expected to achieve positive year-on-year growth by the end of this year. Edwards said there is still growth in activities such as running FBOs and provid-ing aircraft management even though he does not expect to see a sustained rate of recovery in new business jet sales until late 2011 or early 2012. o

Falcon 2000 Owners Have New Interior Options

Jet Aviation has just launched a new refurbishment program for Dassault Falcon 2000 cabin interiors. The new Jet Falcon interior is available in three designs: classic, style (above) and fashion (top), all of which make use of standardized and modular processes, including preproduction of materials, to minimize downtime and cut costs.

The group’s facility in Basel, Switzerland, is a designated Dassault Falcon completion center and has done completions–installation of new interiors and exterior paint–on more than 120 newly built Falcon jets.

“Our Jet Falcon cabin refurbishment provides Falcon 2000 owners and operators the choice of upgrading their aircraft during a maintenance cycle at very competitive pricing,” said Bernd Heinrich, vice president of operations for Jet Aviation Basel. The Jet Falcon refurbishment can be coordinated with airframe maintenance or exterior paint jobs to keep downtime to a minimum. And Falcon 2000 owners and operators “still have the option to add their in-dividual taste to the interior,” he explained.

At the Basel facility, more than 1,600 people design, manufacture and in-stall everything needed for aircraft completion and refurbishment. The com-pany can handle aircraft as large as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8, and its largest completion thus far has been a 747-400.

Jet Aviation holds FAA and EASA repair station certificates and approvals as a factory-approved service center for Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Dassault and Gulfstream airplanes. –C.A.

Jordan’s JP Jets builds first private terminal

Alaeddin Construction Co. is implementing the third phase of construction of a new VIP terminal for Jorda-nian Private Jets Services (JP Jets) at Aqaba’s King Hussein International Airport, the first privately owned terminal for business aviation in the Mid-dle East.

The new terminal will include a VIP lounge and eight executive and crew rest rooms, along with an expansive apron. JP Jets will acquire ground-handling equipment to service

the anticipated business jet traffic. The terminal’s comple-tion is expected by the end of this year.

JP Jets (Stand C420) sees the project as an integral part of its plans to expand charter oper-ations in Aqaba, a plan that includes basing a leased jet at the airport. JP Jets is also estab-lishing an aircraft management service for business aircraft based in the area, according to Noor Elayyan, assistant gen-eral manager for aircraft sales and charter. –J.W.

In addition to the new 747-8, Jet Aviation Basel completes interiors for Airbus Corporate Jetliners. The demand at the top of the business jet market has remained strong.

Economy failing to hamper new FBOs in Middle East by Charles Alcock

Several new FBOs are opening in or being built throughout the Middle East as companies prepare to provide improved infrastructure for handling business aircraft in the region. The investments are being made, even though FBOs at many locations have seen income dip over the past year or so as traffic levels have softened during the economic downturn.

The major redevelopment of Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport has prompted the building of two new FBOs. One operated by local company Arabasco opens this month (see page 8), and Jet Aviation also is due to open its new facility in the Saudi city before the end of this year. The former FBOs were located on the site of the new airport’s main airline passenger terminal.

Jet Aviation’s new building, which has been designed by France’s Aero-ports de Paris group, features an inno-vative passenger flow system so arrivals and departures are conducted in separate channels to speed up throughput. Over-all, the 106,000-sq-ft building provides more space than its predecessor, while still offering direct ramp access.

The new ramp enclave for business aviation includes an area for storing ground equipment and providing line maintenance. There is also an aircraft washing bay next to the FBO, which is important, given that jets tend to get coated in sand when parked in Jeddah. The system can handle aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 747, and Jet Aviation currently washes about two dozen air-craft each month.

The Swiss-based business aviation services group also operates an FBO in Riyadh, where there also are plans for a new airport and discussions are under way about the possible construction of a brand-new FBO that could open in 2015. Early designs show that the facil-ity could feature air bridges to take into account the increasingly large private air-craft using the airport.

According to Frank Kusserow, Jet Aviation’s head of FBOs for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the compa-ny’s Saudi FBOs have seen double-digit growth in traffic this year compared with 2009, which has returned them to 2008 traffic levels.

“Saudi Arabia has been coming out of the [financial] crisis faster, and there is strong growth in domestic [business avia-tion] traffic, partly due to the lack of an efficient airline system,” said Kusserow. He said Jet Aviation (Stand C700) is still the market leader for handling interna-tional business aviation traffic moving in and out of Saudi Arabia.

In addition to the European and U.S. Part 145 line maintenance approv-als that Jet Aviation’s Saudi operation

holds, it is cleared to support Saudi-reg-istered aircraft by the country’s Gen-eral Authority for Civil Aviation. It is also an authorized warranty center for Gulfstream aircraft. Kusserow pointed out that for foreign operators, aircraft-on-ground situations could present immigration issues if their passengers and crew are in danger of exceeding the limits of their visas.

Here in Dubai, Jet Aviation is mark-ing the fifth anniversary of the open-ing of its purpose-built FBO. “We have exceeded the goals that we set ourselves and [after a dip in traffic during 2009] the business is now coming back with operators flying a lot more and having a high demand for handling and mainte-nance,” said Jet Aviation Dubai’s senior vice president Michael Rucker.

Jet Aviation’s challenge to itself was to ensure complete continuity of ser-vice levels so customers would see no difference between standards deliv-ered in the group’s Swiss home market and those in Dubai. “We soon made a change to using the same team struc-ture that we have in Basel [Switzer-land],” Rucker explained. This means that teams focus on supporting the needs of specific manufacturer’s air-craft, so there is a team for Dassault Falcons and another for Gulfstreams and so forth. The company also cross-trains its staff so they can be readily switched between teams depending on need at any given time.

The Dubai maintenance operation has line maintenance approvals cover-ing Gulfstream, Falcon and Hawker Beechcraft aircraft, as well as the Boeing Business Jet and Embraer’s Legacy. In addition to holding European and U.S. authorization, it is also licensed by the United Arab Emirates and other national authorities.

“We have made ourselves strong [in terms of maintenance capability] in the Middle East because we want to be seen as a local service provider that can avoid the need for customers to make ferry flights to Europe,” Rucker told AIN. In fact, due to high local cost structures, the price for maintenance is actually higher in Dubai but the overall expense to oper-ators is lower because they avoid long ferry flights.

For Middle East business aviation, “2009 was the crisis year but we used it to ramp up our operation by hiring more people and training for new ratings to be ready for the growth to return, which is happening now,” said Rucker. If the growth trend continues, he said, the com-pany will recruit more staff and intro-duce a two- or three-shift system in the maintenance department.

Jet Aviation is seeing a lot of activity


Continued on next page u

Flight Planning Expertise Cuts Through Red Tape

Over the past decade, the Middle East has become more user-friendly for business air-craft operators but there are still enough op-erational complexities to make flight-planning support advisable. The need to get overflight and landing permits for most countries re-mains the biggest hassle.

“They are going to need to know exactly who you are, where you are coming from and where you are going next,” explained Keith Foreman, master trip owner with Universal Weather & Aviation. “They want your full itinerary, although in 90 percent of cases they don’t ask who is on board. But they can ask why you are coming [to a country] and who you will meet while you are there.” In his view, many Middle Eastern states are still inherently nervous about private aircraft and helicopters.

One of the main bones of contention is any possible connection with Israel, which re-mains a pariah for most Middle Eastern coun-tries. With the exception of Jordan, Egypt and Turkey, Middle Eastern states do not permit di-rect flights from Israeli airspace into their ter-ritories, which can necessitate complex flight planning to plot an acceptable alternative route.

The time taken to secure the necessary per-mits is generally around three days but since business aircraft passengers often want to leave at very short notice, the trusted relation-ships with Universal and other flight-planning groups can make a difference in that officials may be more flexible. But Foreman, a former U.S. Air Force flight controller with experience in the region, warned that pushing too hard for

quick clearance could be counterproductive.In Foreman’s view, the quality of FBOs and

handling services in the region has generally improved in response to rapid growth in busi-ness aviation. “But things don’t always happen as fast as you would like them to,” he added.

At some locations, Universal (Stand C235) helps to arrange security cover for operators. Elsewhere, getting fuel in a reliable and cost ef-fective way can be an issue.

Universal, which is headquartered in Hous-ton, Texas, has approved agents to serve cli-ents at airports throughout the Middle East. It also ensures that operators have access to the credit they need to pay for fuel, handling and other services.

Meanwhile, locally-based flight planning specialist Sky Aviation Services is opening a new office at Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport. It is headquartered in Sharjah and also has office in Doha, Qatar, and Damascus, Syria.

According to CEO Ayman Obeissy, business aviation traffic in the Middle East is continuing to grow, partly because of an increase in oper-ators making technical stops on intercontinen-tal flights.

The three-year-old company can help with all aspects of flight planning and support on the ground. Obeissy endorsed the view that getting permits in time can be a headache for opera-tors, as can be credit. “Some companies here want to get to know you before they give cred-it,” he said. “But now in some places the infra-structure [for business aviation] is as good as anywhere in the world.” –C.A.

Local company Arabasco’s new FBO is one of two such aviation services facilities opening at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport. The other is operated by Swiss-based Jet Aviation.

The FBOs of Jet Aviation (above) and Arabasco (top) had to be relocated to provide a site for Jeddah’s new main airline passenger terminal. Both Arabasco and Jet Aviation open this month.

by Saudi operators and it also counts the NetJets Middle East fractional ownership provider as one of its biggest support cli-ents. Since opening the Dubai FBO in 2005, the company has added a private lounge and has air conditioned the 45,200-sq-ft hangar.

Rising airline traffic at Dubai International Airport has squeezed capacity to the extent that in busy periods busi-ness aircraft operators can find it hard to get landing permits. Last month there were times when operators found they couldn’t get permits to keep aircraft on the ground there for more than 24 hours. But despite this, Rucker sees no prospect of an early business aviation exo-dus to Dubai’s new Al Mak-toum International Airport near Jebel Ali.

ExecuJet Aviation also has a long-established presence at Dubai International and it too has had to defer plans to set up shop out at the new airport. In

any case, until recent months it has seen demand for handling at its full-service FBO dip sig-nificantly, particularly because of the marked reduction in executive charter activity. “But in the last few weeks traffic has skyrocketed,” said ExecuJet Middle East managing director Mike Berry, reporting a sudden 40-percent spike in demand, albeit compared with a very quiet period at the same time last year. A rise in incoming private charters from Russia explains much of the increase.

The company has been expanding its maintenance capability in Dubai, with a new service to support Hawker operators here and at various points around the world begin-ning next year. ExecuJet (Stand C418/426) can also maintain Embraer Legacys and has long-standing and diverse capabil-ity with Bombardier’s business aircraft. It has doubled the size of its available hangar space to be able to accommodate the enlarged portfolio of mainte-nance customers.

Rizon Jet is putting the fin-ishing touches on a new FBO at its headquarters in the Qatari

capital Doha. The hangar, with adjoining offices and lounges all but complete, is awaiting final approval by local author-ities before it can be officially opened in January.

Meanwhile, work on an almost identical new business aviation complex has fallen somewhat behind schedule at London’s Biggin Hill Airport, where Rizon is establishing its European operation. The facil-ity was to have opened in the summer but delays in sourc-ing some of the fine materials being used for the high-specifi-cation design have pushed this back.

The tastes and needs of Middle Eastern customers have been very much in mind with the design of both the Doha and Biggin Hill facili-ties (which cover similar areas of almost 430,000 sq ft). Fea-tures include separate lounges for male and female passengers and room for prayer.

The Doha FBO centers on a 7,933-sq-ft terminal, including several private family lounges, plus adjoining workshops and offices covering almost 17,000 sq ft and an air-conditioned 43,000-sq-ft hangar, which is large enough to accommodate four Bombardier Global XRS aircraft or nine Challenger 605s. Immediately adjoining the building is a 62,500-sq-ft ramp area.

Rizon’s goal is to become a business aviation service group, offering aircraft charter, man-agement and sales, as well as maintenance and handling. It

is preparing to offer line main-tenance in both Doha and Lon-don, and has held talks with manufacturers such as Bombar-dier and Hawker Beechcraftwith a view to earning authorized ser-vice center status. Its new facili-ties will include avionics shops and battery stores.

The London and Doha operations already hold Euro-pean and Qatari maintenance approvals. By the end of this year, Rizon (Stand C310) expects to get approvals cover-ing aircraft registered in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emir-ates (UAE), Bermuda, the Cay-man Islands and Aruba. The company is approved as a con-tinuing airworthiness manage-ment organization.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the

Cedar Jet Center FBO at Bei-rut Rafic Hariri International Airport has lately seen traf-fic growing by an average of 30 percent so that it now han-dles around 250 movements per month. Over the next 12 months, the company expects to see business aviation traffic continue to grow at an average rate of 12 percent, with most of the flights coming from within the Middle East region, most notably the United Arab Emir-ates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. There is also grow-ing charter activity through local operators such as Mena Jet, Beirut Jet and Wings of Lebanon.

Cedar Jet (Stand C518) occu-pies the largest area within Bei-rut’s general aviation terminal

Economy fails to hamper FBOsuContinued from preceding page

JetEx Spreads Its Wings

After kicking off its international expansion with the opening last year of a new FBO last year at Paris Le Bourget Airport, Dubai-based JetEx Flight Sup-port has established a second site in Europe with a facility at Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine. In addition to further FBOs planned in Ukraine, the company has also established a presence in the Chinese capital Beijing and is consid-ering another new location in Lebanon.

According to managing partner Salem Youssef, the new Le Bourget opera-tion has “fully met expectations” since opening. Average daily movements han-dled there have increased from just 10 when JetEx (Stand C400) acquired the former Flying Group facility to around 40 now–and rising to 60 on busy days.

About 30 percent of JetEx’s client base, including royal families and top government officials, comes from the Middle East and another 40 percent comes from continental Europe, including the growth areas of Ukraine and Russia, with the remainder from North America and elsewhere.

The expansion into the Ukraine is intended as a first step to tapping busi-ness aviation growth in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Kiev FBO’s facilities include a spacious new corporate lounge, private shower and lavatory, crew rest areas and canteen room with free wireless Internet access, LCD TV and refreshments.

JetEx, which provides full flight-planning and ground-handling support, has become a corporate down to the United Nations children’s charity Unicef. It donates one percent of revenues from securing overflight and landing per-mits to the organization. –C.A.

The Cedar Jet Center at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport (top) has seen traffic growing by an average of 30 percent, so it now handles 250 movements a month. Meanwhile, Jet Aviation is marking the fifth anniversary of its purpose-built FBO here.

ExecuJet Aviation has a long-established presence at Dubai International Airport. Until recent months, which have seen a 40-percent spike in demand for handling, traffic had been softening.



and offers separate crew and passenger lounges. The com-pany, which is part of the Mid-dle East Airlines (MEA) group, has its own hangar and a full complement of ground sup-port equipment. It also provides flight planning, landing and overflight permit arrangements, ground transportation, hotel bookings and aircraft cleaning.

According to Cedar Jet spokesman Wael Tayara, the facility is the only FBO in the Middle East to have completed the IATA safety audit ground operations approval. It also meets the ISO standards set by the Lloyds insurance group.

Aircraft maintenance in Bei-rut is available through Cedar Jet’s sister company Mid-dle East Aircraft Services Co. (MASCO). Its main capability is supporting Airbus A320s, and its line maintenance resources cover larger Airbus types and the Boeing 737 family.

According to MASCO head of sale Vanig Garabedian, the EASA Part 145-certified com-pany is stepping up its portfo-lio of maintenance services for business aircraft. The company, which has been in business as the engineering department of MEA since 1955, is now earning approvals to support the Hawker family of jets, for example.

In January, Gama Aviation expects to occupy its new prem-ises in the refurbished executive terminal at Sharjah Airport. It will be working in partnership with Sharjah Aviation Services to provide handling and sup-port to business aircraft opera-tions there. Gama (Stand E205) will be providing the day-to-day handling at the front end of the FBO.

According to Gama man-aging director Dave Edwards, Sharjah is an increasingly good alternative to Dubai Inter-national Airport, where the expansion of Terminal 2 will remove some of the ramp capacity for business aircraft to add to the pressures created by the introduction of slots at the hub. With the construction of some new roads, he claimed the drive from Sharjah Airport to the center of Dubai’s main business district can take as lit-tle as 17 minutes.

In Abu Dhabi, Royal Jet is making plans to establish a base at the new downtown Al Bateen Executive Airport. The aircraft charter and management group already operates the main FBO at Abu Dhabi International Air-port and has a maintenance operation there.

According to CEO Shane

O’Hare, Royal Jet (Chalet A5/6) has been closely involved in the development of Al Bateen. It will establish its initial base there in the existing buildings but has longer term plans to build its own facility at the site. o

Royal Jet is making plans to establish a base at the new Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, joining its FBO at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

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Deals drive London lawyers to mull Arabian Gulf branchby Charles Alcock

A growing number of business air-craft transactions has prompted London-based aviation law firm Gates & Partner to consider opening an office in the Mid-dle East. Partner Aoife O’Sullivan is here at the MEBA show this week partly to engage with prospective clients, but also to consider options for estab-lishing a permanent presence with a local attorney.

Last year, Gates was involved in closing 25 aircraft acquisi-tions in this part of the world and it is already set to achieve a higher number by year-end. The company is expecting fur-ther sales growth in the region next year, based on the fact that it has seen 100 percent of deals this year being completed due to finance providers’ improved confi-dence in the business aviation sector.

Gates deals with a variety of Middle Eastern clients, ranging from banks that finance aircraft destined for the United Arab Emirates, to high-net-worth individ-uals, and a growing number of corporate

buyers. “A real maturity has entered the market over the last 10 years as opera-tors have improved their operating stan-dards,” said O’Sullivan. “They are very proud of their industry.” She praised local aviation authorities for taking a more proactive approach to enforcing

regulatory standards.Fundamentally, the legal

support that Gates provides for aircraft owners in the Middle East is no different from any-where else. The priorities are to protect the asset as far as pos-sible and to create ownership structures that protect those owners in terms of liability.

Mindful that many aircraft transactions involve both Mid-dle Eastern and Western par-

ties, O’Sullivan generally advises clients to base contracts in Sharia law since that ultimately will be the legal foundation for any local court rulings. Increasing num-bers of deals are being done in Saudi Arabia, where aircraft buyers can also be subject to the jurisdiction of the SAMA committee, which governs disputes over payment. In her view, this provides an additional level of protection for finance providers because an unfavorable ruling by the committee is a serious disincentive to default on payment.

The Gates & Partners team can han-dle all aspects of an aircraft transaction, including checking the title, conduct-ing prepurchase inspections and mak-ing arrangements for delivery. It can also provide tax advice. For cash transactions, which are relatively common in the Mid-dle East, the law firm also has to handle compliance with regulations governing money laundering. o


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Aoife O’Sullivan

Ocean Sky sees growth in Dubai aviation service

UK-based private aviation services provider Ocean Sky (Stand E312) has sig-naled its expansion into the Middle East with the opening of an office in Dubai. According to the company, while its ini-tial focus in the region will be to offer air charter and aircraft management ser-vices, it expects eventually to expand into other segments such as aircraft acquisi-tion and sales and FBO operations.

“The Middle East is a natural fit for Ocean Sky,” said company CEO Steve

Grimes. “There is signifi-cant and growing demand for private aviation ser-vices and our breadth of activities makes us excel-lently placed to meet a customer’s entire needs.”

The Dubai office will be headed by Neil Back-house, most recently

charter sales manager for ExecuJet Middle East’s managed aircraft fleet. Before that he worked in the region with Bombardier Skyjet. “Neil Back-house brings almost a decade of expe-rience of the Middle East, coupled with insights developed both as a broker and an operator,” said Grimes. “He is ide-ally qualified to spearhead our growth in the region.” o

Steve Grimes

static dance directors Marshaling the arrivals for the static dis-play takes some serious choreography, and equally serious discussion. This quin-tet seems to have it under control.

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UVAir smooths out fuel tax calculations by Charles Alcock

Universal Weather & Avia-tion (Stand C235) has doubled the number of countries covered by its UVAir service to provide fuel invoicing that is compli-ant with requirements for value added tax (VAT) due on air-craft fuel in Europe. The service, which was introduced back in May, is supposed to overcome the headaches commonly asso-ciated with determining which VAT rate should apply based on an aircraft operator’s status in terms of whether it is a commer-cial operation and/or flies air-craft registered outside Europe.

The nine new countries now covered by the complimentary service are: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. It already applies for nine other European states: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

Universal provides the VAT service through its new UVAir European Fuelling Services sub-sidiary, based in Shannon, Ire-land. Several other flight planning and fuel groups already provide a similar service.

VAT is applied at different rates throughout Europe and it has often proved to be extremely complicated to work out which rate should apply, based on where an operator is registered, where it operates from and where it is flying. “This system ensures that we can exempt cli-ents from VAT, if they are enti-tled to this, and charge other clients at the correct rate, pro-viding an accurate VAT invoice,” explained Steve Woods, UVAir fuel manager for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia.

“In recent years, we have found that fuel suppliers, such as FBOs and oil companies were making decisions on whether VAT should be charged on an uplift before bill-ing the fuel to UVAir and did not distinguish tax-exempt operators so it fell to UVair to check this,” Woods explained. “The VAT situ-ation on fuel is very much open to interpretation in Europe.”

To join the program, opera-tors first have to fill out declara-tion forms to explain their status. The main questions to be resolved include whether the client is a commercial operator, whether it operates more than 50 percent of flights for reward on nondomestic

legs and if it is operating the flight for a private client, is the flight being made for business or leisure reasons. Not all holders of com-mercial air operations certificates are exempt. Some companies can reclaim VAT if they have a valid VAT invoice and UVAir can now provide these for the initial nine countries in which its new subsid-iary is VAT-registered.

“We want to ensure that fuel suppliers are competing on the actual base price of fuel rather than [have it be distorted by incon-sistent] VAT rates,” concluded Woods. Outside of standard sup-plier preorder requirements in the 18 countries where the service is offered, qualifying operators with a declaration form on file will no longer need to preorder to qualify for VAT exempt fuel.

UVair European Fuelling Ser-vices Limited is also now able to exclusively offer an enhanced exemption advantage to Part 91 business operators uplifting within the UK. Part 91 business operators may qualify themselves for VAT-exempt fuel invoicing in the UK by completing an e-mail acknowledgement process after uplifting fuel.

Separately, Universal has launched a new service to help its flight-planning clients with all aspects of Europe’s emissions trading scheme. UVair has part-nered with CICS Inc., which will provide the required indepen-dent verification of CO2 emis-sions (see page 41). o

Airbus ACJs spearhead Comlux move into MEby David Donald

Comlux The Aviation Group (Chalet A18) has established a new commercial office to oversee its operations in the Gulf region. Based in Bahrain, Comlux Mid-dle East has begun operations with two Airbus Corporate Jets. The division expects to receive an Airbus A320 Prestige in January.

“The Middle East represents great opportunities to business aviation, and Bahrain is an excel-lent location to service the mar-ket in the whole Middle East,” said group president Richard Gaona. “With our fleet based in Bahrain, we are more reactive on the charter market demand: it will allow our local customers to charter our VIP aircraft with no positioning costs, hence creating competitive charter solutions for all of the Middle East region.”

Comlux Middle East’s ini-tial fleet comprises an Airbus A318 Elite in full VIP configu-ration with a large comfortable

lounge, a dining room and a luxurious private area at the back, and an Airbus A319 ACJ, which includes a private bed-room at the front with its own shower, a spacious lounge with a round dining table for six and an entourage area at the back with 12 first-class seats. Both config-urations cater to 19 passengers.

Comlux (Chalet A18) currently has five Airbus executive/VIP jets on its books. The new A320 des-tined for Bahrain is now under-going cabin outfitting at Comlux America, the group’s completion and refurbishment center at Indi-anapolis, Indiana. The facility can deliver four narrowbody con-versions each year and has been approved by Boeing for outfitting its business jet line.

Fly Comlux is the division in charge of VIP aircraft char-ter and management operations, and currently has 17 aircraft. Its three operational centers are in

Switzerland, Kazakhstan and Malta, and it has commercial offices in Moscow and Almaty, in addition to those in Zurich and Bahrain. The division has recently named Andrea Zanetto, formerly COO of Italian operator Meridi-ana Fly, as its new CEO.

Fly Comlux is growing fast. As well as the A320 due in Jan-uary, Comlux has announced an aircraft management con-tract for another ACJ, raising the number of Airbus corpo-rate aircraft to seven. A Bombar-dier Global 5000 is also due in 2011 to increase Comlux’s fleet of Global aircraft to eight, con-solidating the group’s position as one of the largest VIP char-ter operators of this family in Europe. Also scheduled to join the fleet next year are a Dassault Falcon 900LX and a Boeing 767-200ER BBJ. On order for 2012 and 2013 are another ACJ and two Global Express XRSes.

“I am very pleased with the development of our aircraft management business within the Comlux group,” said Gaona. “In the medium term we want to reach a fleet size that brings ben-efits to our clients and allows us to optimize our overhead costs. We have acquired a unique expe-rience in the market in man-aging the largest cabin jets worldwide. I strongly believe that our high-class quality services repu-tation will attract more aircraft owners willing to have their air-craft professionally and person-ally managed.” o


Waiting for its siblingsWorkers spiff up an Embraer Phenom 300 on the static line. The light Phenom is being joined on display at MEBA by the Brazilian manufacturer’s ultra-long-range Lineage 1000 and the recently certified Legacy 650.�

Andrea Zanetto is CEO of fast-growing Fly Comlux, the division of Comlux in charge of VIP aircraft charter and management operations. At top, one of the Comlux’s VIP aircraft awaits passengers.

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Falcon 2000LX OK’d for London City Airportby James Wynbrandt

French business jet man-ufacturer Dassault Falcon announced at MEBA its Fal-con 2000LX has been granted approval for arrivals and departures at London City Air-port (LCY).

The airport, in the heart of London, is noted for its short runway (4,327 feet for land-ing/3,934 feet for takeoff), and aircraft must demonstrate exact-ing performance to receive approval to use the airport.

“Flying into London City is not only a challenge for air-craft performance, aircraft are also required to be good neigh-bors and must abide by strict noise procedures,” noted John Rosanvallon, president and CEO of Dassault Falcon. “Meeting

these requirements is not an easy task, but the convenience of fly-ing into the heart of downtown London is highly valuable for business jet operators.”

Landing at the airport also requires a much steeper approach than normal (5.5- degree glide path compared with the standard 3.0 degrees). To meet required performance, Dassault equipped the 2000LX with an autobrake feature that reduces landing distances by as much as 300 feet.

The approval applies to Euro-pean-registered 2000LXs, and Dassault is currently develop-ing a program to gain FAA steep-approach certification, which will allow U.S.-registered 2000LXs to operate at LCY.

Though it cannot oper-ate at maximum gross weight in and out of the airport, the 2000LX will have the range to reach all of Europe and as far as Moscow from LCY. Cer-tified in 2009, the 2000LX is

the long-range version (4,000 nautical miles) of the 2000EX EASy and also has 10 to 15 percent better climb perfor-mance, enabling it to climb to 41,000 feet in 18 minutes.

Dassault’s Falcon 900DX/

EX, 50, 10 and 7X have previously received certification to operate at LCY from both EASA and the FAA. The 7X is the longest range business jet approved for such operations, capable of reaching New York nonstop from LCY. o

Dassault Falcon’s 2000LX has been approved for arrivals and departures from London City Airport. Located in the heart of downtown London, LCY is noted for its short runway. Aircraft must meet exacting performance standards to operate there.

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Push-Pull Corvallis

Although not in the same class as Cessna’s iconic 337 push-pull Skymaster, this Cessna Cor-vallis nevertheless is employing a manpowered push-pull concept. Ground handlers were working overtime in the days prior to the opening of the 2010 MEBA show.

ILS clearance spurs growth at city center Al Bateenby Robert P. Mark

Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport yester-day received official ap-proval for its new instru-ment landing system and GNSS/VOR/DME-based precision ap proach. The equipment was installed back in September but final clearance from lo-cal authorities ends the downtown airfield’s limi-tation to VFR operations.

Last month, Al Bateen (Stand C600) handled nearly 100 private aircraft movements during the Ethiad Airways Formula 1 Grand Prix race. While the peak traffic days were November 13 and 14, overall traffic increased 17 percent when com-pared with the number of aircraft handled during the 2009 race. Aircraft as

large as a VIP Boeing 757 landed at Al Bateen, a for-mer military airbase.

The main Abu Dhabi International Airport re-corded a 16-percent in-crease in traffic the week before the race.

The Abu Dha-bi Airports Company (ADAC)–of which Al Bateen is a part–called the trend “a clear indi-cation of the strong in-ternational attention this event attracts and its suc-cess in bringing visitors to the Emirate.”

According to ADAC CEO James Bennett, the company “had a very exciting week offering its award-winning services to all the F1 guests.” The company also said the numbers reflected an

increased number of flight frequencies and destina-tions to Abu Dhabi since the same time last year.

ADAC is a joint-stock company wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi gov-ernment and incorporat-ed in 2006 to spearhead development of the Emir-ate’s aviation infrastruc-ture. The group is current-ly expanding Abu Dhabi International Airport to handle some 20 million passengers per year by adding a second runway, a third airline terminal and a new airport traf-fic control tower. Overall price tag for the project is $6.8 billion. o

For a full report on Al Bateen Executive Airport see Wednesday’s edition of MEBA Convention News.

Aircraft sit on the ramp at Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport. It recently received IFR approval.

Snecma, Airbus team on CFM engine support

Snecma and Airbus Corporate Jet Centre (ACJC) signed an agreement on November 26 for the engine manufacturer to provide full service support for the CFM International CFM56-5B turbofans that power the Airbus Corporate Jet family. Part of France’s Safran group, Snecma builds the CFM56 engines in a 50/50 joint venture with U.S. company General Electric, while ACJC is responsible for the outfitting and support of Airbus VIP/executive aircraft.

Snecma has recently launched its EngineLife brand for its support services, under which it provides engine MRO ser-vices to a wide range of operators. Under the agreement with ACJC it will provide services such as engine condition moni-toring, shop visits, foreign object damage protection, LRU pool access and repair, and spare engine availability.

“ACJC and Snecma’s combined exper-tise offers original equipment manufac-turer reliability and quality,” said Benoit Defforge, ACJC’s CEO. Philippe Petit-colin, CEO of Snecma, added, “[The partnership] is designed to answer ACJ operator demands by proposing a dedi-cated team and support services based on a flight-hour rate, to allow better planning for engine maintenance costs.” o

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Avinode finds air charter stronger in Middle Eastby James Wynbrandt

Air charter in the Middle East has shown strength in the face of the global market decline of the past year, according to data recently released by Avinode, the online air charter marketplace and information company.

Online searches and requests for charter in the Middle East have increased to represent 5 percent of all global search and request activity, accord-ing to Avinode’s findings. Also, the majority of charter flights

in the region either arrive or depart from Dubai Interna-tional Airport.

Avinode further reports that the price of the average char-ter flight in the Middle East has increased, rising to an average of €54,000 ($72,360) per flight. This figure is significantly higher than the average cost of flights in other regions, due to the pref-erence for heavy jets and the lon-ger distances flown by charter flights in the Middle East.

The Sweden-based group notes that heavy jets account for almost twice as many requests as those for midsize jets in the region, while globally requests for heavy and midsize jets are statistically even. Moreover, the average flight time for char-ter flights to and from the Mid-dle East is 4.6 hours, compared to 2.5 hours for Europe and 3.1 hours globally.

Avinode member compa-nies in the region, who use the company’s online services to buy and sell charter flights, have also been experiencing growth. Ocean Sky Aviation, based in London, recently opened an office in Dubai and has plans to expand its services in the region.

“We see the increasing demand

for private aviation in the Mid-dle East as an excellent fit for our broad range of services,” said Ste-phen Grimes, Ocean Sky’s CEO. “While we will initially focus on aircraft charter and manage-ment, we have already begun to see opportunities to bring other aspects of our established busi-ness portfolio into the region.”

Ivan Tehaghapsao of Abu Dhabi’s Al Jaber Aviation, another Avinode member com-pany, has also noted regional growth over the past year. “The Middle Eastern market is doing better than last year,” said Tehaghapsao. “At this pace I would estimate another two years before we see a complete return to the 2007/2008 levels.”

Apps Take Data MobileAvinode (Stand C755) has

also been introducing new ways for customers to access the information it provides. The company recently introduced its first iPhone application, based on the company’s popular Empty Leg Link, which helps providers and customers locate aircraft for charter. The app lets users customize their specifica-tions for aircraft searches, and features a GPS-based search that allows users to find empty legs based on their proximity to departure airports.

“Instant technology is the way to go,” said Kevin Parrott, president and CEO of Apo-gee Jets in Miami, Florida, one of Avinode’s launch partners

for the app. “Business is shift-ing more and more toward one-ways. With the Empty Leg app you can have them right there in the palm of your hand.”

Joshua Herbert, CEO of Magellan Jets in Braintree, Mas-sachusetts, another launch part-ner, is also enthusiastic about the new app. “We recognize that our clients’ time is very valuable, so the portable nature of Avinode’s Empty Leg App seemed like a perfect way to increase their effi-ciency and help expedite the pro-cess of searching and requesting empty legs,” he said. o

Avinode recently introduced its first iPhone application, based on the company’s Empty Leg Link, which helps locate aircraft for charter.

Online air charter service Avinode reports business in the Middle East has shown strength in the face of the global decline of the past year as online searches and requests for charter increased to represent 5 percent of all global search and request activity.

Wyvern Gets New Leader

Avinode has appointed Brent Moldowan as managing director of Wyvern Consulting, the avi-ation safety auditing company based in Trenton, New Jersey. Avinode acquired Wyvern when it merged with its parent com-pany, Charter X, earlier this year.

“I am very excited to lead Wyvern the next phase of the company’s growth,” Moldowan said. “I look forward to promot-ing the value of the Wyvern in-dustry-leading safety standard to both buyers and sellers.” –J.W.

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Arabs more astute on advantages of bizavby Charles Alcock

Economic expansion across the Middle East region is boost-ing demand for business aircraft in new markets such as Egypt, Lebanon and Qatar, according to Bombardier Aerospace. At the same time, despite the finan-cial crisis, demand has held up well in more established coun-tries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“In recent years, economic expansion has seen investments being made in different countries and the limited airline schedules into smaller airports has pushed people to consider buying busi-ness jets,” said Khader Mat-tar, the Canadian airframer’s regional vice president for sales in the Middle East, North Africa and India.

One driver of this trend has

been investors from the wealthy Arabian Gulf states pouring money into the Egyptian econ-omy. While previously, most business activity in this large country has been focused on the capital Cairo, it is now spreading to cities such as Sharm el-Sheikh and Alexandria.

Another characteristic of the Middle East’s evolving market-place is that business aircraft are increasingly being seen as real business tools, rather than as being purely for private trans-portation. Mattar has witnessed the emergence of entrepreneurs as a new segment of prospective customers in the region. These consumers have tended to have a more pragmatic view of travel needs and so are more willing to consider somewhat smaller

airplanes than have been the norm in this part of the world, including Bombardier’s Learjets and Challengers. “The Mid-dle East customer has become more educated about how busi-ness aircraft can be operated,” he said.

Bombardier now claims that its aircraft account for 19 percent of the installed base in the Middle East. Accord-ing to Mattar, the Challenger 600 series of jets are the most

popular group, with 66 percent of market share in their prod-uct segment. “But there are definitely opportunities here now for the Learjet 60 and the new Learjet 85,” he told AIN. “The new Global 7000 and 8000 aircraft will also be very attractive in the Middle East because they will offer even more range [than is available

with the existing Global Express models].”

Here at the MEBA show this week, Bombardier is displaying a Challenger 300 and an 850, as well as a Learjet 60XR. Visi-tors can also see examples of the Global family of aircraft oper-ated by Bombardier clients such as Qatar Executive and FAI rent-a-jet. o

Bombardier Challenger 600 series jets, shown on the static display here, are the most popular group in their product segment, with 66 percent of market share. But there are opportunities for the Learjet 60 and the new Learjet 85.


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Vision Systems showing IFE and dimmable windowsVision Systems, which is

exhibiting at the MEBA show for the first time (Stand C714), is displaying its newest offer-ings in sun protection and in-flight entertainment systems. These include dimmable cabin windows and an all-in-one

multimedia electronic unit.The French company is

introducing the Nuance system as an alternative to conventional shades. “We have built proto-types of this dimmable win-dow, which is suitable for curved and large surfaces,” said Vision

Systems spokeswoman Sonia Descoins. The equipment can be retrofitted in existing aircraft, although it is a somewhat diffi-cult procedure.

Descoins admitted that the new device is more expensive than a mechanical shade. “But you get

rid of the rolling-up problem you can have with leather shades,” she pointed out. In addition, the pas-senger can set the desired light-ing precisely. Also, such a design better integrates into a VIP cabin interior, she said.

Another version that permits

only the choice between clear and dark settings is cheaper. “It is more adapted to a dividing wall,” Descoins noted. Vision Systems’ solar equipment also includes cockpit visors and roller shades.

Centralized Cabin Controls Vision Systems also is pitch-

ing the Visibox as a new cen-tralized control unit for cabin systems. The new single unit includes all the hardware to con-trol cabin lighting and temper-ature, multimedia applications, moving maps and so forth. “It is designed for small environments like Learjet and Citation cab-ins,” Descoins said.

The Visibox is said to be the “brain” of the system, central-izing all information. It can retrieve data from satellite con-nections such as Inmarsat and Iridium. Descoins emphasized the possibilities for Internet access, video conference, radio, TV and network video games.

Another of Vision Sys-tems’ businesses is video moni-toring and this, too, could find an application in business avia-tion, she said. “We are building a prototype for external aircraft surveillance on the apron,” Des-coins explained.

Here in Dubai this week, Vision Systems’ officials are talk-ing to airframers, completion centers and operators. “Depend-ing on what we hear from them, we might tweak our products,” said Descoins.

Vision Systems’ revenues amounted to approximately $30 million in 2009. Avia-tion-related activities, which account for more than half of this amount, have not been hit by the downturn, accord-ing to Descoins. They included deliveries of IFE equipment to regional aircraft manufacturer ATR, and helicopter composite parts, such as control sticks, to Eurocopter. Since 2009, invest-ment in research and develop-ment has increased to 6 percent of the revenues, she said. –T.D.


Vision Systems’ dimmable windows are more expensive than conventional shades but a better fit in a VIP aircraft interior.

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Arinc supports SMS readiness and introduces SkyVector map by Charles Alcock

Arinc Direct is trying to help aircraft operators meet the requirement to imple-ment safety management systems (SMS) by introducing a process for assessing risk factors before each flight. Under the new mandate from the International Civil Aviation Organization, business aircraft operators flying internationally were sup-posed to start implementing SMS from last month.

Arinc’s system allows operators to pre-select risk factors for their specific aircraft from a comprehensive library. When a flight plan is prepared, these risk factors are automatically populated and processed against available data such as weather, airport conditions and winds. The resulting risk factors assessment is an integral part of the flight plan.

“We have been able to deliver a user-friendly solution by recognizing the value of existing flight plan informa-tion for the overall risk assessment,” said Arinc senior director Bob Richard. “The result is a highly integrated solution that enables customers to meet the require-ments of the ICAO regulation.”

Arinc Direct customers also can define new risk factors for their aircraft to support unique operational or SMS requirements. The company plans to retain user-entered information for a spe-cific period, which will support the safety assurance and safety promotion compo-nent of ICAO’s SMS requirements.

The company will also provide oper-ators a means to store and access doc-uments with SMS-related information, such as risk mitigation procedures, main-tenance manuals and emergency contact and accident/incident notification. The implementation of all these capabilities will be phased in over the coming months.

“We want to thank the Arinc Direct

customers who helped support the development of our risk-factors library by providing their risk-assessment forms and input,” said Richard. “This has helped us ensure that as many fac-tors as feasible are included in our ini-tial design.”

Meanwhile, Arinc Direct (Stand C628) has also upgraded its flight-planning sys-tem with the integration of interactive planning functions from online chart provider SkyVector. This is intended to make it easier for operators to access and use its worldwide mapping and naviga-tion data online.

“Users will be able to view in great detail the current route offered and the aeronautical map data behind it,” said Richard. “In the past, many of our cus-tomers have used paper navigation charts. The new integrated charts will make re-planning flights a lot simpler.”

The aeronautical charts from SkyVec-tor can be dragged and zoomed in and out up to a high-altitude en route world chart. Additional detailed information is available on the Arinc chart screen in “layers” that include flight information regions, animated radar, turbulence, icing and winds, as well as airmets and sigmets.

The enhanced flight-planning pro-gram also displays temporary flight restrictions in effect at locations visible on the charts. Another feature is a con-figurable fuel-stop planner that displays contract fuel prices offered through Arinc in real time, allowing users to make bet-ter informed decisions on fuel stops. An online fuel purchasing form is included.

There is no added cost for Arinc Direct customers to use the enhanced flight-planning system, which they can access through their subscriber accounts. o


Arinc Direct has added detailed, zoomable map data from SkyVector to its flight-planning capabilities.

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Dassault sees signs of bizav recovery in ME by James Wynbrandt

French business jet manu-facturer Dassault Falcon sees signs of recovery in the Middle East business aviation market, the company announced shortly before MEBA’s opening day.

“The Middle East business environment still remains chal-lenging, but confidence levels appear to be rising,” said John Rosanvallon, Dassault Falcon’s president and CEO. “Dassault has seen much greater demand over the last two quarters of the current financial year, with larger cabin jet sales and prices holding up better than smaller jets.”

Currently Dassault has about 60 of its aircraft in the Middle East. The company sold 14 air-craft in the region in the last two years and has a backlog of 16 to be delivered to regional buyers by 2013. The Falcon 7X has cap-tured 40 percent of the company’s new sales, and Dassault expects to deliver its tenth 7X to the region before the end of this year.

In addition to a growth in orders, Dassault noted that the number of hours being flown by business jet operators in the region has been increasing. Moreover, the private aviation

client base is evolving beyond a small group of users to include corporate heads, entrepreneurs and other business leaders, according to the company. This growth has been enabled by an expansion of business aviation infrastructure, leading Dassault to label the regional market for private aviation as “very mature.”

“Investment made in private aviation infrastructure in the boom years is supporting the development of business avia-tion in the region,” Rosanvallon said. “The service centers and FBOs [fixed-base operators] in the region are recognized as being among the best in the world, and are helping business aviation to develop rapidly and attract a much broader clientele here. Given this situation, we are very optimistic about the future, which is one of the reasons we are developing our own pres-ence and adding new resources.”

Dassault recently opened a new regional sales office and appointed a new regional sales manager in Dubai, and added a second authorized service cen-ter and a new customer service manager in Saudi Arabia.

The company also noted that CAE SimuFlite, its training pro-vider, plans to open a new Fal-con training center in Dubai in the second quarter of 2011.

Rosanvallon said other markets

are also showing signs of an uptick, but attributed the com-pany’s particular strength in the Middle East not only to its expanded infrastructure, but its military heritage.

“Western economies are still struggling to recover, but other regions are active, including

India, South America, Asia and the Middle East, where we have an advantage because of our military heritage and estab-lished reputation, through the Dassault Mirage fighter jets that are operated in some GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries,” said Rosanvallon. o

A winglet-equipped Falcon 900LX is shown over Dubai. Dassault is seeing signs of recovery in the Middle East business aviation market.

328DBJ replaces former EnvoyMunich-based 328 Sup-

port Services has announced the new 328DBJ model, with an updated interior, as the replacement aircraft for the Envoy version of the jet.

The new 328DBJ forward cabin was redesigned to deliver an additional half-meter of cabin space and includes elec-tric window blinds and slim-line passenger service units (PSU).

The stretched 328DBJ cabin measures 10 meters long, 2.15 meters wide and 1.8 meters high (33 by 7 by 6 feet) and can accommodate both a lounge and a conference area.

The aircraft on display in front of Chalet A1 here at MEBA is large enough to easily hold a 32-inch video monitor. It is owned by an undisclosed cus-tomer from South America.

The 328DBJ, supported by dual FMS and a second GPS sensor, meets minimum navi-gation performance specifica-tion (MNPS) for unrestricted operations in oceanic and remote areas.

The German company calls the 328DBJ an “affordable lux-ury” option for companies unwilling or unable to pur-chase a green VIP aircraft from

a traditional manufacturer. An unmodified airframe costs approximately $3 to 6 million, with refurbishment running about $4 to 6 million additional.

The aircraft also features a new emergency lighting system. The wireless emergency pri-mary power system (WEPPS) has been developed by STG Aerospace to provide back-up lighting.

To date, 328 Support Ser-vices, which specializes in

providing maintenance and VIP conversions for the Dornier 328 regional jets, has installed three WEPPS kits. One is on a pri-vately owned 328DBJ and the other two are on aircraft oper-ated by German charter group DC Aviation and another by Nigerian carrier Skybird, which is to get the system on two more aircraft.

According to the company, the use of WEPPS can save an operator as much as $10,000 per year in reduced mainte-nance costs. Under its agree-ment with STG, 328 Support Services is responsible for cer-tifying the installation of the system under a supplementary type certificate.

WEPPS integrates wire-less monitoring, real-time MEL diagnostics, and solid-state oper-ation for managing and power-ing emergency lighting systems.

The system uses new oper-ating protocols and approved ‘fit-for-life’ non-rechargeable battery modules to replace con-ventional NiCad battery/char-ger packs, reducing operating costs by eliminating the emer-gency lighting system’s entire maintenance schedule. –J.M.

The former Dornier 328JET, known in its business iteration as the Envoy 3, has been rechristened the 328DBJ by 328 Support Services. It features a stretched cabin that can accommodate both a lounge and a conference area.

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Delouye To Manage Falcon ME Customer Service

Dassault Falcon announced at MEBA the appoint-ment of Bernard Delouye as the new customer service manager to support its customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan and Syria. He will be based in Jeddah, where a significant portion of the region’s Falcon fleet is based.

Delouye, who has been living in the region for 12 years, brings more than 24 years of experience in aero-nautical maintenance and a strong military aviation back-ground to his position. The previous manager, Arnaud Deleval, retired earlier this year after a decade of service to Falcon operators. –J.W.

Bernard Delouye


Two Legacy 650s here for MEBA attendeesby R. Randall Padfield

MEBA attendees have two Embraer Legacy 650s to view here in Dubai. Business Air International (BAI) of Dallas, Texas, is displaying the first cer-tified Embraer Legacy 650 to be shown at MEBA. This recently delivered jet (G-RBNS) hap-pens to be for sale and “ready for instant delivery.” Mean-while, Embraer is also showing its 650 factory demonstrator. The Brazilian airplane manu-facturer announced EASA cer-tification of the Legacy 650 less than two months ago dur-ing October’s National Business Aviation Association Conven-tion in Atlanta, Georgia.

BAI, a dealer of private jets, is offering G-RBNS, on behalf of an unidentified UK owner, whose business transportation requirements have reportedly changed since it placed the order for the airplane several years ago. According to BAI, the owner already operates a Leg-acy 600 and is keeping it, while selling its 650.

“The 650’s arrival has been hotly anticipated by a number of people. So much so, in fact, that it flew here on a charter via Russia,” said BAI’s Oliver Stone. “The airplane’s added range and additional load factors have been items that many charter customers have looked forward to since its announcement.”

Indeed, the principal benefit of the Legacy 650 over the Leg-acy 600 is its range of up to 3,900 nm, making Dubai-to-London trips with up to seven passengers routinely achievable. In fact, Embraer (Stand A15 and Static) recently concluded a flight test with the 650 factory demon-strator to verify this claim. In early November, the demon-strator flew nonstop flight from Dubai to Farnborough Airport in the UK, covering a distance of 3,500 nm (6,482 kilometers) in eight hours. The flight car-ried seven passengers and three flight crewmembers.

On G-RBNS’s flight from St. Petersburg to Dubai, which carried 13 passengers, Stone said the pilots reported average fuel flows of about 950 to 1,000 kilograms per hour at Mach 0.78 cruise, compared with the Legacy 600’s 1,000 to 1,100 kilograms per hour. The pilots also said the 650 was substan-tially quieter due to improve-ments made to the cabin’s soundproofing. For the planned return trip from Dubai to Lon-don, en route time is estimated at seven hours and 40 minutes, with ample reserve. This trip is not possible in the 600. The 650’s higher landing weight allows “greater fuel tankerage,” according to the pilots.

Stone estimated that G-RBNS has about 50 hours of flight time in its logbook. This includes flight-test time, its delivery flight from São José dos Campos, Brazil, to London and the flight from London to Dubai via Russia. The airplane is registered to London Executive Aviation, which han-dled its acceptance and delivery and is now flying it for charter. The asking price of the aircraft is $27.9 million.

BAI (Stand E222) special-izes in medium cabin and larger private jets and handles some two dozen transactions each year, most of which involve cross-border transactions. The company claims expertise in the execution of contracts and aeronautical documentation regarding registration and certi-fication in various international jurisdictions, including the U.S. and Europe.

BAI sister company, Jet Works Air Center, a mainte-nance and airliner comple-tions company, is displaying at MEBA for the first time. Also based in Dallas, Jet Works is fea-turing its experience and capa-bility with refurbishment and completion work on Boeing BBJs and similar corporate- configured aircraft. o


GSM-equipped Prestige is new first for Airbus

Toulouse, France-based Air-bus Corporate Jet Center (ACJC) is about to deliver the first A320 Prestige equipped with the com-pany’s new GSM onboard sys-tem allowing passengers to use their mobile phones in flight. The aircraft is headed to an undisclosed customer in the Middle East.

The ACJC specializes in

custom corporate aircraft out-fitting and maintenance on the Airbus family of jets includ-ing the A320, A330 and A340. ACJC has delivered five VIP air-craft in the past five years and said its facilities are now fully committed until mid-2012.

The cabin of the recent Pres-tige delivery features an elegant forward lounge with club seats

and a divan, a bedroom with a large en-suite bathroom and two VIP guest areas. Addition-ally, the cabin features touch-screen technology, satellite TV and an advanced passen-ger entertainment and com-munications system including a passenger flight information system, Internet and audio and video on demand.

The ACJC design team also developed a VIP conversion kit offering A320 operators a quick-change option to trans-form the aircraft from a VIP to a commercial aircraft in less than eight hours. –R.P.M.

Bombardier establishes support office in Dubai

Bombardier Aerospace has announced the opening of a new regional support office (RSO) in Dubai for its Global, Challenger and Learjet families of business jets. The sixth Bombardier RSO to open outside North America in the last three years, the new office is part of the company’s drive to bring aircraft technical expertise, flight operations support and cus-tomer account management func-tions to Bombardier customers in the Middle East.

“It is crucial that our growing customer base in this key part of the world has ready access to a fully integrated regional support system,” said Andy Nureddin, vice president, customer ser-vices and support, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “This new RSO is part of our aggressive plan to move closer to our cus-tomers, improve response times

and build stronger relationships around the globe.”

Located at Dubai Interna-tional Airport alongside the com-pany’s existing parts depot, the office is staffed by a customer

support account manager and two field service representatives. An office manager will join the new RSO team in January next year and a customer liaison pilot and additional field service repre-sentatives will be added later in the year, according to the company.

Bombardier’s RSO network for business and commercial aircraft includes locations in Mumbai, India; Tokyo; Sydney; Shanghai and Munich. –J.W.

Airbus Corporate Jet Center specializes in custom corporate aircraft outfitting and maintenance on the Airbus family of jets. Shown is the first VIP cabin completed in April 2008. The company has delivered five VIP aircraft in the past five years.

Bombardier Business Aircraft’s Dubai team (l to r) Andy Ellis, manager of customer support for the Middle East & Africa region; Andy Nureddin, v-p of customer services and support; and Lanny Schindelmeiser, director customer response team.

Business Air International is offering this Legacy 650 for “instant delivery” at an asking price of $27.9 million.

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CAE adds Falcon sims to Dubai training siteby Robert P. Mark

CAE is further boosting its business aviation flight training capability here in Dubai with the addition in early 2011 of a Dassault Falcon 900EX simula-tor. The unit will be installed at the Emirates/CAE Flight Train-ing Center (ECFT) and will be joined next summer by a simu-lator for Dassault’s Falcon 7X.

Opened in December 2003, the Emirates/CAE Flight Train-ing Center, located in build-ing B at the Dubai campus of the Emirates Aviation Col-lege, houses 14 aircraft simula-tors, full-motion machines that, from the cockpit perspective, accurately recreate the oper-ating capabilities of a variety of aircraft. CAE is not simply providing airline training, but also trains pilots for a number of business/corporate aircraft operators. In fact, 75 percent of the Dubai facility’s revenues are actually generated by their busi-ness aviation operations.

Specifically, the Dubai

facility houses machines capa-ble of reproducing a vari-ety of Boeing and Airbus airliners. On the corporate avi-ation side, simulators dupli-cate aircraft from Bombardier, Gulfstream, Hawker Beechcraft and Dassault. ECFT also oper-ates the only Bell 412 helicopter simulator in the region.

Pilots visit CAE for initial training on aircraft they have not flown before, as well as annual recurrent training they need to maintain their proficiency in the aircraft they currently fly. The benefits of aircraft simula-tors are that operators can fly a machine version of their air-craft for considerably less cost per hour than they could possi-bly fly their own airplane. More important than the operating-cost disparity between a real aircraft and its electronic twin, however, is the fact that a simu-lator allows flight crews to expe-rience and react to a variety of in-flight situations, such as

engine or electrical failures and poor weather, which might be unsafe to attempt in a real air-craft while airborne.

Another significant aspect of the value proposition of flight simulators is their flex-ibility. Often, with very lit-tle downtime, one Gulfstream sim, for example, can be reconfigured to simulate the characteristics of a similar looking, yet different model that might demand additional pilot knowledge.

The total ECFT experience includes ground school and the newest integrated proce-dure trainers for crews to prac-tice a variety of checklists many times before actually entering the simulator cockpit. By the time pilots reach the simulator, they are expected to be able to fly the aircraft from takeoff to landing and successfully navi-gate any and all problems pre-sented to them.

Camille Mariamo, ECFT’s managing director, spoke about the effects of the worldwide recession on business for the facility. “Traffic to ECFT was not as severely impacted during the recent recession as in some other parts of the world,” he said. “We see business picking up as business aircraft use grows in the Middle East.”

Mariano explained that the real growth in the simu-lator business is appearing in large cabin aircraft, such as the Falcon 900 and 7X, as well as the large Gulfstreams and

Bombardier aircraft, such as the G550 and Global Express. Real-izing that difficulties in trying to make a single customer phi-losophy fit everyone, Mariano added that here in Dubai, “CAE sells the company’s entire train-ing network. Should a particu-lar simulator schedule not fit a customer’s needs locally, Dubai personnel will search other loca-tions to connect customers with the simulator schedule that best fits their needs.” o


This Hawker 800 simulator is one of 14 full-motion machines at the Emirates/CAE Flight Training Center located at the Dubai campus of the Emirates Aviation College. Seventy-five percent of the facility’s revenues come from business aviation operations.

Royal jet hailed as opeRatoR of the yeaR

Royal Jet of Abu Dhabi has landed another major award with the presentation of the Business Aviation Operator of the Year title at the fourth annual Aviation Business Awards. The latest prize, collected by COO Ahmed Al Mamari (left) and Shane O’Hare, the company’s presi-dent and CEO, came just weeks after Royal Jet retained its crown for a fourth year as “World’s Leading Private Jet Service” at the World Travel Awards in London.� n

Dubai to Austria in 15 Seconds

This AIN editor had an opportunity to tour Emirates/CAE Flight Training Center in Dubai. I was quickly impressed not simply with the size of the cen-ter, but also the pristine nature of the entire facility, a location that appears to have thought of almost every possible customer comfort, from snacks and drinks for crewmembers, no matter when their classes might operate, to lim-ousine services to carry customers to and from their hotels.

Because of major customer demand for services, it is not uncommon for flight crews to train at all hours of the day and night. ECFT simulators current-ly operate nearly 21 hours each day, seven days per week.

Sitting in the left command seat of a Hawker 800 simulator in Dubai, I was treated to a visual experience looking out the cockpit windows that truly made me feel as if I were sitting on the end of Runway 12 Right at Dubai In-ternational Airport.

On takeoff, I steered the jet down the electronic runway, lifted off and turned southward toward the downtown area for an aerial view of the sky-

scrapers that had been accurately repro-duced. While the weather for this first flight was “ceiling and visibility OK,” my simulator instructor quickly command-ed the computer to insert a line of severe thunderstorms 10 miles ahead. When I flew too close, the simulator accurate-ly reproduced moderate turbulence that shook the machine as if we were close to the actual storms, but all with no dan-ger to the crew.

For a quick change of pace, we changed locations and within 15 seconds, the simulator was showing me a view of the mountainous terrain surround-ing Innsbruck in Austria. We practiced a few landings and takeoffs there that clear-ly and safely demonstrated the risks in-volved flying in that region. –R.P.M.

Avjet grows in spite of poor economy

Despite what Avjet Rout-ing (Stand C225) called a year of “uncontrollable eco-nomic factors,” the Shar-jah-based aircraft handling company said it recorded a year of strong growth, strong enough, in fact, that it labeled its 2010 performance to date as “exceptional.” A spokes-man explained that the growth came as a result of a number of new contacts joining its AV-Global Network.

The company offers all aspects of flight services in - cluding ground handling, ground supervision, fueling, VIP passenger and crew ser-vices and the provision of international overflight and landing permits 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Avjet specializes in quick turn-around of permits requests to even the most challenging regions of the globe.

Avjet Routing CEO Sam Wanli said the company is strongly committed to the Gulf Region. He explained that it operates through a global net-work of offices to match the industry’s demands, with loca-tions in Sharjah, Damascus, Syria; Geneva, Switzerland; Tripoli, Libya; Khartoum, Su - dan; and Istanbul, Turkey. o

Most of ECFT revenue comes from business aviation training in sims such as this Global Express machine.


Falcons gaining speed with API’s winglets

Visitors to the MEBA static display will see some Dassault Falcon business jets equipped with Aviation Partners, Inc. (API) Blended Winglets. And more models of the Falcon fam-ily will sport API winglets as reg-ulatory approvals come through early next year for upgrades to the 900 and 50 series.

Two months ago at the NBAA Convention, Seattle, Washington-based API began taking orders for Blended Winglet upgrades for the Falcon 900, and already buy-ers have committed to 10 ship-sets. Certification by the FAA and EASA is expected in March 2011, but buyers can order the Blended Winglets for a pre-certi-fication price of $575,000.

API has already certi-fied Blended Winglets as an

upgrade for the Falcon 2000, and Dassault Falcon incorpo-rates Blended Winglets on new-production Falcon 2000LXs and 900LXs. All of the Fal-con Blended Winglets are “high Mach” devices “optimized for cruise speeds of Mach 0.80 and higher,” according to API.

Performance improvement for the Falcon 2000 includes drag reduction of 5 percent at Mach 0.80 and more than 7 per-cent at long-range cruise speed. API expects the same results for the Falcon 900 and 50 retrofits.

All models of the Falcon 2000 family are retrofittable with the Blended Winglets, and once the 900 and 50 retrofits are approved, the winglets can be installed on the Falcon 50 and 50EX and 900, 900B, 900C, 900DX, 900EX and

900EX EASy models. “We have seen tremendous

early demand for winglets from the Falcon 900 operator com-munity,” said Gary Dunn, API vice president of sales, “and expect delivery slots to be booked through the end of 2011 before certification.”

Blended winglets are also available for the Hawker 800, Gulfstream II and Boeing 737, 757 and 767. By the end of 2014, API expects its winglets to have saved the aviation industry more than five billion gallons of jet fuel. –M.T.


I want to gIve you a tugA lineman’s work is never done, especially when preparing for a static display such as this week’s Middle East Business Aviation show. On the receiving end of a little help here yesterday was a Bombardier Global.

Aviation Partners Blended Winglets are improving performance for the Falcon 2000. All models of the 2000 are retrofittable, and retrofits are pending for the 900 and 50 series.

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Jordan’s first charter broker offers jets, t-props, helicopters

Amman-based One & Done Aviation has established what it claims to be the first air char-ter brokerage in Jordan. The company provides access to a variety of aircraft, includ-ing corporate airliners, business jets and turboprops, along with a special emphasis on helicop-ter charters. Its chartered heli-copters are available for scenic flights, aerial photography and filming, air ambulance and fire-fighting, as well as for corporate

transportation. One & Done expects its

offerings to appeal to individ-uals and companies seeking a long-term relationship with a full service charter broker that can provide the optimum air-craft for any mission based on client preferences and needs. The company also offers air-craft purchasing services, help-ing clients identify and acquire the aircraft best suited to their individual requirements. –J.W.

MedAire to provide health care to Comluxby Robert P. Mark

Aircraft charter and man-agement group Comlux has announced an agreement with MedAire to provide on-demand emergency medical services to Comlux passengers anywhere the company flies. The new service is scheduled to begin on January 1.

MedAire (Stand C735) also signed a deal with Wichita, Kan-sas-based Hawker Beechcraft Co. (HBC) to provide similar medical services to this manu-facturer of piston, turboprop and turbojet airplanes. These deals will offer round-the-clock access to medical care, both on the ground and in flight, via MedAire’s MedLink Global Response Center.

The service will include emer-gency care communications between doctors and passen-gers, onboard medical kits and aviation medical training for Comlux pilots and flight atten-dants. MedLink doctors cur-rently manage more than 18,000 in-flight medical cases each year.

MedLink technology pro-vides remote linkups between doctors and flight crewmembers to help them assess the health of passengers and crewmembers and make recommendations using the medications and sup-plies found in the onboard first-aid or emergency medical kits. On the ground anywhere, pas-sengers and crew have ready access to MedAire’s 24/7 medi-cal and travel advice.

“As a premium brand in the charter market, Comlux is fur-ther defining its safety standards for both customers and crew,” said MedAire CEO Grant Jeffrey.

MedAire’s regulatory compli-ant crew medical training, as well as its onboard medical equip-ment, will help Comlux meet the requirements of a safety man-agement systems (SMS) now re-quired of corporate aircraft op-erators by most civil aviation authorities around the world. The Comlux fleet includes many widebody business aircraft, such as the Global XRS, Challenger 605 and Airbus Elite.

Daniel Staub, Comlux’s head of in-flight products and ser-vices, believes passengers and crew will be pleased with the new contract between the two com-panies. “Every year our Comlux crews will be taught by medical professionals with in-flight expe-rience through the Management of In-Flight Illness & Injury program. MedAire’s initial and recurrent courses will ensure we’re delivering the highest stan-dard of medical care, giving our crew the confidence, knowledge and resources to prepare for and manage unexpected medical sit-uations,” he said.

Risk ManagementSeparately, MedAire an-

nounced an agreement with Control Risks, an independent risk consultancy based in the UK, to provide clients with trav-el and security advice via a single phone number and Web portal.

Specifically, aircraft passen-gers and crew can contact Con-trol Risks security specialists 24 hours a day for up-to-date security and safety information region or city, as well as to obtain timely, expert advice. o

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EU emissions rules also plague ME operatorsby Charles Alcock

For Middle Eastern air-craft operators that make even a handful of short flights into European airspace, there’s no escaping the countdown to the European Union’s contentious emissions trading scheme (ETS). The carbon credits scheme goes into full effect just over a year from now on Jan. 1, 2012, but many operators have been bat-tling with the preparatory bureaucracy for more than a year and those who have not yet made a start may have to scram-ble to be ready to meet require-ments that cannot be dodged without facing stiff penalties.

Yet, with less than four months to go before the March 31 deadline for aircraft opera-tors to submit independently verified emissions reports for the EU-ETS, there is still wide-spread confusion as to how the verification process will work for many in the business aviation sector. European authorities continue to be slow in approv-ing the independent verification companies needed to complete the task and the industry is still awaiting a final European Com-mission ruling as to whether costly site visits will be required to complete verification for the so-called small-emitters (cur-rently defined as those emitting less than 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year).

What is clear is that all oper-ators assigned to an EU state for ETS compliance purposes (regardless of whether they are based in the EU) have to file a verified emissions report for 2010–whether or not they are claiming free carbon credits for 2012, when the full ETS imple-mentation begins. Those claim-ing credits also have to file the so-called “tonne-kilome-ter” report, calculated from the number of metric tons of fuel burned, the number of kilome-ters flown within EU airspace over a Great Circle route (plus 95 nm) and the payload flown.

Site Visit ProcessAccording to Neil Duffy,

technical manager with UK-based verifier ICM ETS, ques-tions as to whether site visits are required probably will be resolved only when the European Commission (EC) approves the final version of Eurocontrol’s ETS Support Facility (covering

the process for small emitters). This has been expected for many months and should be issued before year-end.

The final version of the sup-port facility will go live in Jan-uary 2011, according to Bo Rederborn, director of coop-erative network design with Eurocontrol. Last month, he told Quaynote’s Future of Business Jets conference in London that it would cost operators €400 per year to sub-scribe to the tool. This fee will allow them or their authorized verifier access to flight data, which will be archived for 10 years. Eurocontrol has been adding new aircraft manufac-turer data to the support facil-ity to improve the accuracy of emissions calculations, which in early use of the beta model of the system have been found to be significantly inaccurate for some aircraft types.

According to the UK Envi-ronment Agency, which has been one of the more transpar-ent EU ETS authorities, the EC is about to give a final rul-ing as to whether site visits will be required. Its Web site (www.environment-agency.gov.uk) points out that the broad EU guidelines say no more than that a site visit “may be appropriate” but there is no information as to the circumstances in which it may not be required. This deci-sion alone could make a big dif-ference to small operators facing EU ETS compliance costs that they feel are in danger of being out of proportion to their actual carbon footprint.

What’s more, the actual cost of EU-ETS compliance will vary significantly depending on which EU national body an operator has been assigned to. Some countries are charging lit-tle or nothing to file emissions reports. The UK is charging approximately £800 ($1,280) for the annual emissions report and the same again for opera-tors completing a tonne-kilo-meter report to claim free carbon credits (prompting some small operators not to bother claiming them).

Eurocontrol estimates that approximately 3,000 opera-tors can currently be classed as smaller emitters, but this number would increase if the CO2 emissions threshold were

raised. This in turn could reduce the cost of using the ETS Support Facility.

According to the European Business Aviation Association, even the EC’s updated list of operators subject to ETS is full of inconsistencies and errors. Partly due to the complexity of the compliance process, it main-tains that as many as 30 percent of those operators who should already have registered for ETS have yet to do so.

Help Here in DubaiICM ETS is one of several

companies exhibiting here at MEBA that is prepared to help operators get through the maze of ETS compliance. The inde-pendent emissions verifier is part of the UK-based ICM Avi-ation group (Stand C358).

Dubai-based United Avia-tion Services (Stand No. C725) has partnered with ETS Avi-ation to launch a new service called ETS Linked to help operators handle the need to monitor, report and ver-ify emissions. It can also help them to ensure that they get their maximum entitlement of free carbon credits.

Universal Weather & Avi-ation (Stand C235) also has launched a new service to help its flight-planning clients with all aspects of the ETS process. The U.S.-based group has part-nered with CICS Inc., which will provide the required inde-pendent verification of CO2 emissions.

Universal clients will be able to tap into the company’s data-base to gather all the informa-tion they need on their flights into and within European air-space. “We are currently devel-oping a unique portal our clients

will be able to log into that will house that data,” said Randy Stephens, Universal’s division vice president for product man-agement and specialty services. “Clients will also have the abil-ity to upload any additional data from flights not coordi-nated through Universal.”

After the emissions report has been prepared by Univer-sal, operators pass it along to CICS, which completes the independent verification. CICS has been accredited to handle ETS verification by the UK,

Ireland and several other Euro-pean Union states. There will be just one fee–as yet unspec-ified–to cover both the report-ing and verification.

According to Universal’s supervisor of regulatory ser-vices Adam Hartley, clients will still have the option of creating their own reports for free. Uni-versal will be maintaining the background information and advice that it has been delivering via its online EU-ETS Report-ing Resource Center (www.EU-ETS.aero). o


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Even operators of aircraft based and registered outside Europe, such as this UAE-registered business jet, are liable for charges under the European Union’s new emissions trading scheme. Compliance paperwork is also proving to be a major headache.

Powerplan provides pay-by-the-hour mx

Luxembourg-based Aero-dynamics, here at the MEBA show (Stand E236) for the first time, is offering Powerplan, an independent pay-by-the-hour plan for engine mainte-nance. The company says it is available for almost every type of engine–turbofans, turbo-props and turboshafts, as well as APUs. Powerplan uses the number of engines covered as leverage to get discounts from MRO service providers.

Powerplan, which was launched in September 2009, is well suited to customers in the Middle East, according to sales manager Karen Warner. “We have a close relationship with many facilities in the region,” she said.

When an operator enrolls, Powerplan’s staff determines the most suitable maintenance facility, based on location and cost. “The maintenance tech-nicians we employ understand what the cost should be,” War-ner pointed out. The customer

then pays a flat fee per flight hour, which covers scheduled and unscheduled maintenance events. Powerplan also works with some operators who have their own maintenance facil-ities. “In that case, we ensure that costs get covered appropri-ately,” Warner said.

An operator can enroll any-time during the life of an aircraft. If the engines are new, the price takes the warranty into account. If not, a one-time payment can compensate for the previous use of the engines. Otherwise, the customer can choose to share the costs of scheduled mainte-nance, unscheduled events being 100-percent covered.

Aerodynamics formerly was a partner with JSSI, another inde-pendent pay-by-the-hour main-tenance provider. –T.D.

by Charles Alcock

Just over two years ago, when the MEBA show last came to Dubai, in November 2008, the Middle East’s private aircraft charter market had the feel of a 19th century Gold Rush town in the U.S. Wild West. Opera-tors, and prospective operators, couldn’t get established here fast enough and brokers com-plained they couldn’t source the aircraft they needed for cus-tomers clamoring for an alter-native to airline service.

But, as with so much of what Dubai has promised, all that glistened has not proved to be gold and much of this char-ter market exuberance was to come crashing down to earth as the tidal wave of the global financial crisis reached these shores. While it is wrong to deduce that the wider Middle East shared to the same extent the market turmoil experienced in Dubai, there is no doubt that demand for charter has been seriously dented over the past 12 to 24 months.

By some estimates, over-all charter demand levels have dipped by as much as 25 to 30 percent. Admittedly, this is rel-ative to the inflated rates of

activity seen in the heady pre-crash days but the impact on operators has been all too real.

Most operators interviewed by AIN on the eve of this year’s MEBA show agreed that demand is slowly recovering but that this is not yet reflected in improv-ing profit margins from flight-hour rates. As in other parts of the world, capacity has been kept unhealthily high in part because aircraft owners have not been able to sell their assets and have sought to recoup any possible income to cover costs.

Royal Jet“We are seeing the fresh green

roots of recovery, but market con-ditions are still very similar to last year,” said Shane O’Hare, CEO of Royal Jet. The long-established Abu Dhabi-based operator has shown resilience in challenging conditions, pursuing “measured expansion” into the very promis-ing Saudi Arabian market, while also getting more involved in bro-kering flights.

Over the year now drawing to a close, Royal Jet (Chalet A5/6) has added both a new Embraer Lineage 1000 to its fleet and its sixth Boeing Business Jet–

cementing its position as the world’s largest operator of BBJs. It also has continued to invest in a program of rolling refurbish-ment of its BBJs.

According to O’Hare, the corporate sector of the Middle East charter market has been the most severely impacted by the economic downturn, with other sectors such as high-net-worth-individuals, government and medical evacuation holding up better. That said, the emer-gence of corporate travel oppor-tunities in countries such as Iraq and Royal Jet’s new presence in Saudi Arabia have bolstered this side of its business.

Royal Jet’s arrival in the Saudi market has come through a joint venture with local com-pany Arabasco, which holds the Saudi aircraft operating certif-icate (AOC) needed to operate in the country. One Royal Jet BBJ is now permanently based in Jeddah, and the company is planning to locate more there in the coming months. Its oper-ation includes local Saudi staff. Arabasco provides maintenance and handling support from its three bases in Saudi Arabia.

“The partnership with Ara-basco has been a dream arrange-ment,” said O’Hare. “Some say the Saudi market is very diffi-cult but from the outset we were heartily welcomed by Arabasco, and the GACA [Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Avi-ation] was keen for Royal Jet to come there because they have had some challenges with the grey market [that is, illegal char-ter operations].”

To stimulate charter demand, Royal Jet has introduced mar-keting initiatives such as the 100 Club, through which clients can earn discounts of between 5 and

9 percent on standard charter rates by committing to minimum annual purchases of between 20 and 100 hours. Also new is a set of luxury vacation pack-ages jointly promoted with travel agency Dnata that gives clients exclusive access to its jets and to exceptional resorts in Egypt, the Indian Ocean and Europe.

Currently, 80 percent of Royal Jet’s profits come from the six BBJs. However, accord-ing to the company, strong demand for its three Gulfstream G300s makes these aircraft the most used Gulfstreams in the world. The Lineage has been brought in to fill a gap between the G300s and the BBJs, and the fleet also includes a Bombardier Learjet 60. Last month Royal Jet won the Leading Private

Jet Charter award in the World Travel Awards.

From O’Hare’s perspective, the Middle East charter sector is a fast-maturing market that is likely to see a further shake out in terms of competitors hav-ing to leave the business or con-solidate. “We have faced a wall of new competitors coming in with impressive [aircraft] order books for the next five years,” he stated. “But most of these orders have not materialized and those who have come here have downgraded their plans are finding the market very tough.”

Jet AviationThe market view of another

long-established operator, Jet Aviation, is not too different.



Charter market starting to show signs of recovery

To stimulate demand, Abu Dhabi-based Royal Jet has introduced discounts and luxury vacation packages that give clients access to its jets–BBJs, Gulfstream G300s and a Lineage 1000–and to exclusive resorts in Egypt, the Indian Ocean and Europe.

Middle East No Longer a Gray Market for Charter

The Middle East charter market has gone a long way in shedding its rep-utation as a hotbed of illegal, so-called gray-market, activity, according to leading charter brokering group Air Partner. Just a few years ago, legal loop-holes in operating rules and a lack of enforcement initiative on the part of aviation officials meant that “gray-market” activity was rife in this part of the world, making it hard for legitimate operators and brokers to make a living.

“The Middle East has seen rapid growth in commercial operations and it is now much more respectable,” said David MacDonald, director of Air Part-ner’s Private Jets division. By contrast, he said that another new business aviation market, Russia, has now become a hotbed of illegal charter activity.

This view was endorsed by Aoife O’Sullivan, a partner with aviation law firm Gates & Partners. She told AIN that aviation authorities in the Middle East–and especially here in the Arabian Gulf states–are eager to demonstrate that the industry is regulated vigorously to the highest Western standards.

But the same cannot be said outside this part of the world. Air Partner and charter operator Gama Aviation are leading a new campaign demanding tougher policing of illegal charter operations worldwide. Gama CEO Marwan Khalek believes that as many as half of all private charter flights in some mar-kets are not conducted on a fully legal basis.

The campaigners, who are backed by business aviation associations in Europe, want regulators to be more aggressive in doing spot checks on operators at airports. They also want to see the closure of loopholes that are allowing dry leases to be flagrantly abused as cover for illegal charters.

For a charter flight to be legal, it must be operated by a company holding a valid commercial air operator’s certificate (AOC). The flight must be con-ducted on commercial rules, which limit factors such as the number of hours a crew can work and landing/takeoff limits.

According to O’Sullivan, many operators and their charter clients are ig-norant of the very serious legal risks they expose themselves to when they don’t fly under an AOC. For instance, insurance cover (including life insur-ance) can be automatically canceled and illegal flights may also invalidate the terms of a finance contract, allowing a bank to repossess the aircraft. –C.A.

Abu Dhabi-based Royal Jet is expanding into the Saudi Arabian market.

Royal Jet is offering luxurious VIP travel aboard this new Embraer Lineage 1000 which it is managing under contract for UAE-based business conglomerate Al Habtoor Group.

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The Switzerland-based group has had a strong presence in the Middle East for the past two decades and it, too, now sees excess charter flight capacity as well as uncertainty in the related aircraft management sector. It also believes that some of the reduction in charter flying over the past couple of years stems from the fact that local aviation authorities have been more suc-cessfully clamping down on ille-gal charter activity.

According to Juerg Reuthinger, senior vice president for aircraft management in Europe, the Mid-dle East, Africa and Asia, the market for having aircraft under management contracts has been flat over the past couple of years. “At the same time, we have seen new competitors coming out of nowhere, but I expect to see some people dropping out over the next 12 months, or sooner, because some already cannot pay their bills,” he said.

In Reuthinger’s view, some management clients have been misled into signing contracts that appear to promise lower management expenses but that mask the overall cost. “There are some pressures [on manage-ment companies] due to falling charter rates and it is important for them to be honest with cli-ents [about income from char-ter flying to offset management costs] because the management budget should never be part of the sales pitch,” he stated.

“We haven’t lost a contract to a competitor in the past 12 months, but some owners have changed [management compa-nies],” he explained. “Sometimes they think they can get their air-craft managed cheaper, but then find out the hard way that air-craft management costs money and the management fee itself is generally a marginal cost com-pared with other factors.” Being a global operator, Jet Aviation benefits from significant econ-omies of scale for costs such as fuel purchases and maintenance.

Martin Bernegger, Jet Avia-tion’s senior vice president for charter in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, said there definitely is excess capacity of aircraft available for charter in some Middle East locations, including the United Arab Emir-ates. However, given the region’s reduced spending power, what surprises him more is that the market has not diversified by introducing more medium-sized

aircraft that could be chartered out at lower rates for more prag-matic private flying.

“This is very unusual because in difficult times people could cer-tainly be using smaller aircraft,” he said. “It could be due to cul-tural issues or the fact that Middle Eastern passengers like to travel with a lot of bags and tend to want longer range, but there are definitely a lot of widebodies out their on ramps gathering dust.”

For this reason, Bernegger predicted that the MEBA show could see operators ordering smaller aircraft and canceling or deferring orders for larger ones. “The market cannot go on like this,” he argued.

Jet Aviation (Stand C700) currently operates almost 55 aircraft throughout the Middle East region (including North Africa). The company now sees business aviation fleet expansion more widely dispersed through-out the region, with more air-craft going to countries such as Qatar and Egypt.

Rizon JetAccording to Rizon Jet CEO

Patrick Enz, there has been some recovery in the Middle East char-ter sector but it remains quite squeezed in terms of margins. “Some operators are flying for very low rates now,” he told AIN.

Qatar-based Rizon (Stand C310) claims to be taking a more long-term approach to its expansion plans, investing to ensure European standards for safety and comfort. “This does create commercial pressures,” acknowledged Enz.

From its bases in Doha and Dubai, the company operates a pair of Bombardier Chal-lenger 605s and two Hawker Beechcraft 900XPs. It also flies a Global Express but it is exclu-sively for the use of its chair-man, Ghanim bin Saad Al Saad.

Gama AviationAlmost a year after it secured

its air operator’s certificate (AOC) here in the United Arab Emir-ates, Gama Aviation is seeing the charter market rebuilding slowly, according to managing direc-tor Dave Edwards. The Shar-jah-based operation expects to achieve its goal of getting five aircraft into its managed charter fleet by the end of this year, hav-ing recently added an Embraer Legacy 600 to the existing trio of a Bombardier Challenger 604, a 605 and an 850.

“The market has sobered up a bit,” Edwards told AIN. “When we got our AOC [in Feb-ruary 2010] there were around 20 applications from other

companies, but many of them have since fallen by the way-side. Some have simply gone to the wall. Running a business air-craft AOC is very expensive and it is hard to do [efficiently] with just two or three aircraft.”

Gama (Stand E205) is also close to securing its CAR 145 maintenance approval here in the UAE. The group has been in business for more than 27 years and already has extensive man-agement and charter operations in both the UK and the U.S.

ComluxComlux, another Switzer-

land-based business aviation services group, last month for-mally opened its new Comlux Middle East division, based in Bahrain. It is basing two of its five Airbus jets in the region: an Airbus A318 Elite, configured in full VIP configuration with a large comfortable lounge, dining room and a luxurious private area at the back; and an Airbus ACJ, with a private bedroom at the front with its own shower, a spacious lounge including a convenient round dining table for six and an entourage area at the back with 12 first-class seats. Both can seat up to 19 passen-gers and both are on show here in MEBA’s static display.

“The Middle East represents great opportunities for business aviation and Bahrain is an excel-lent location to service the busi-ness aviation market in the whole region,” said group president Richard Gaona. Comlux Mid-dle East hopes to add at least two more aircraft in the coming months. The group also oper-ates 13 Bombardier jets (a mix of Global and Challenger types).

The new Bahrain opera-tion has been established with a local business partner, but not another aviation company, as had been planned earlier. Back in January, Comlux had announced plans to launch the

new venture in alliance with the Bahrain subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s MAZ Aviation, but Gaona explained that this plan had since been abandoned.

The Comlux aircraft are reg-istered in Malta and are to be operated under the Fly Com-lux division’s European AOC. Bahrain does not require com-mercial aircraft operators to have a local AOC if they are not making scheduled flights and if officials are satisfied with the quality of the jurisdiction from which they hold their AOC.

“Bahrain wants to boost its aviation business and so it doesn’t impose the requirement for a local AOC,” explained Gaona. “What they want are quality operators and they happily accepted our EASA [European] certificate.”

Comlux’s main goal in basing aircraft in Bahrain is to reduce the need for longer ferry flights to serve customers. From there it can reach other key markets such as nearby Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait in just 20 to 50 minutes’ flying time. The company is also estab-lishing itself as another source of aircraft management provi-sion in the region.

The worldwide Comlux fleet now includes 17 aircraft. Three more (a Global 5000, another ACJ and a Dassault Falcon 900) are due to be added in 2011. In addition to the European oper-ation, the group also holds an AOC in Kazakhstan and has a base there too.

The third narrowbody air-craft to join Comlux Middle East will be an A320 Prestige, expected to enter service in Bah-rain next month. The green airplane is currently undergo-ing cabin outfitting at Comlux America, the group’s comple-tion and refurbishment center at Indianapolis International Air-port in Indianapolis, Indiana. Colocated there is Comlux Avi-ation Services, which specializes

in maintenance work on Bom-bardier business aircraft.

Gaona said Comlux will likely appoint aircraft comple-tions and maintenance special-ists to its Bahrain team, who will be able to support clients want-ing to have work done by Com-lux America. He did not rule out eventually establishing some air-craft engineering capability in Bahrain so owners do not have to take their aircraft out of the region to have work done.

ExecuJet Aviation ExecuJet Aviation also has

seen charter demand recov-ering in recent months after a steep decline over the pre-vious year that saw bookings down by as much as 30 per-cent in some periods. The com-pany’s Dubai-based operation is now seeking to win manage-ment contracts for a more var-ied fleet of aircraft so that it has the right equipment to capital-ize on more diverse trip require-ments. It would like to add more mid-range aircraft like Bombar-dier’s Challenger 605 and the Embraer Legacy 600.

The downturn has unsettled the Middle East market with some aircraft being grounded pending sale or repossession. “At the same time, competition for aircraft management has been tough, with owners tak-ing the opportunity to reassess the operators they use and look for cost savings. Not too many aircraft have been delivered and so pricing has been fierce,” said Mike Berry, managing director of ExecuJet Middle East.

Nonetheless, ExecuJet (Stand C418/426) has been able to add a pair of Challenger 605s to its fleet in the past six months and the Dubai-based fleet now num-bers 18 jets. It has also added a Hawker 800 and a Global 5000 to balance out the types in its portfolio. It is set to add


uContinued from page 42

Charter market starts to recover

Comlux’s Airbus A318 Elite is configured in full VIP configuration with a large comfortable lounge, dining room and luxurious area at the back. The Bahrain-based charter provider says the Middle East offers great opportunities for business aviation.


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Even VIPs washed out by low humidity levels by Charles Alcock

It should go without saying that private jet passengers gen-erally enjoy more space, more comfortable seats and more advanced cabin systems than their airline counterparts. But the benefits of all these luxu-ries can be badly undermined by inadequate humidity lev-els in the cabin that can make the VIP traveler as weary as an economy-class pauper at the end of a long flight.

CTT Systems (Stand E154) has an answer to this conun-drum in the shape of its Cair system, which can ensure that comfortable levels of humid-ity are maintained throughout a flight. It works in tandem with the Swedish company’s Zonal Drying technology to ensure that excessive condensation does not gather in places where it can damage the fabric of the aircraft, while also causing excess weight and wasteful fuel burn.

VIP Cabins, Low HumidityUnlike economy-class cabins

where large numbers of passen-gers generate plenty of natural humidity, VIP and first-class air-liner cabins (as well as cockpits) carry only small numbers of peo-ple, so the humidity at altitude will drop to levels that can have a debilitating effect on humans since dehydration worsens the effects of travel fatigue and jet lag.

In a building on the ground

the relative humidity would nor-mally be between 50 and 60 per-cent, but in an aircraft at 33,000 feet it would drop to just 5 to 15 percent because the outside air is extremely dry at that altitude and about half of the air inside is drawn in through the engines.

Each passenger generates about 3.5 ounces of water per flight hour. So, 10 passengers making a 10-hour flight on a business jet will produce 350 ounces of water, while 400 pas-sengers making the same jour-ney on an airliner will produce just over 109 U.S. gallons.

So far, CTT has installed the Cair system in about 40 private aircraft–almost half of which have been Boeing Business Jets. The equipment is also approved for the Airbus Corporate Jet-liner family (starting with the A318 Elite), as well as VIP ver-sions of the A330 and A340, and for the Boeing 747 and 777. The company is now pursuing first applications for the new 747-8, as well as for VIP ver-sions of the A380.

The Cair system uses one or more humidifiers connected to a water supply. The humidifi-ers include a pad of glass fiber with specially designed, moist-ened air channels. When dry air passes through the moist sur-face of the pad, the water evap-orates and the air is humidified as it cools. The size of the pad

is determined by the volume of airflow to be humidified, and by regulating the water supply and the temperature of the air as it reaches the pad, the system can run automatically.

Minerals and other water contaminants are trapped in the pad. According to CTT, the risk of spreading bacteria through the system is minimal because the water evaporates as it trans-fers into the air and so cannot carry bacteria.

For aircraft cabins, the humidifier is installed in air sup-ply ducts leading to the area to be humidified. CTT can also pro-vide separate humidifiers to serve the cockpit and crew rest areas.

The Zonal Drying system, consisting of a fan, a heater and a rotor, takes air from the air-craft atmosphere, removes the moisture from it and then blows it into the gap between the cabin and the aircraft skin. This creates a barrier of dry air, which in turn

dries out the aircraft’s insulation blankets that otherwise would be saturated with condensation.

At the same time, the rela-tive humidity of the air coming into contact with cold surfaces is lowered, reducing condensa-tion. Depending on the aircraft type, the Zonal Drying unit is installed either in the crown area at the top of the fuselage or beneath the cabin floor.

Majority of Customers from Middle East

Eight out of 10 private cus-tomers for Cair have come from the Middle East, which is not sur-prising given the strong demand here for airliner-class bizjets and the tendency of passengers to make long-haul flights. “It has really become essential to pas-sengers in this market [to have comfortable levels of cabin humidity], to the extent that we actually heard of a customer making Cair an AOG [aircraft

on ground] item so that he won’t fly if it isn’t working,” explained CTT vice president for sales and marketing Ulf Liljenberg.

CTT is willing to develop Cair for other business jets, but it is more viable for those with large cabins that make lon-ger flights. For instance, it has looked at seeking approval to install the equipment on aircraft such as the Dassault Falcon 7X and the new Gulfstream G650, but the small company realized that, with so many larger proj-ects under way, it didn’t have enough time and engineering capacity to take on the work.

Numerous airlines have also selected the Cair and Zonal Drying combination, as they are strongly motivated by the desire to drive down fuel costs as well as to provide passenger comfort. Lufthansa has Cair installed in its new A380 aircraft and carri-ers in the Middle East also have shown a strong interest. o

It’s hard to top the space and luxury offered by VIP configurations of the latest widebody airliners, like the Boeing 747-8, but low-occupancy cabins tend to suffer from unhealthily low humidity and that is what CTT’s Cair system is designed to remedy.

a Challenger 604 and a 605, as well as a Gulfstream G450.

“To run a professional orga-nization and maintain high stan-dards of safety takes more than some people envisage,” Berry told AIN. “The challenge is always to go to owners and let them know what they are actually buying. You cannot do aircraft man-agement on the cheap and some have found this out through mis-takes learnt by taking short-term decisions.” With this in mind, ExecuJet has not reduced staffing levels during the lean period.

VistaJetVistaJet still considers the

Middle East to be a core market in a charter/management offering that now spans from Europe to Asia, and, through a recent alli-ance with Flexjet, to the U.S. too. “It is far bigger than just Dubai,” pointed out VistaJet chairman Thomas Flohr. “Qatar and Saudi Arabia are still growing, and Egypt is a shining star for us.”

VistaJet’s all-Bombardier fleet now comprises 28 aircraft and at least one of them can be viewed out on the MEBA show static display. In July, the company sig-naled its confidence in the recov-ery of the charter market by awarding the Canadian airframer a $277 million contract for six air-craft, including six Global Express XRSs and a pair of Challenger 605s. All of them are to be deliv-ered in 2011 and 2012.

“The Middle East is a core

part of our service area and we don’t penalize customers for fly-ing out of this region,” explained Flohr. “We have a fleet of iden-tical aircraft well suited to long- and medium-haul flying and we ensure that some of them are positioned in this part of the world at any given time.”

This past summer–tradition-ally a slow period for charter demand in the Middle East–saw bookings up by about 25 percent on 2009, and this growth con-tinued throughout October and into last month. “There is strong demand for a high-end, luxury product like this,” maintained Flohr. “It’s in the more commod-itized service for one-hour flights that the market is not as strong and is more price sensitive.” He said VistaJet’s Global Express aircraft are averaging about 100 flight hours per month.

Dana Executive JetsDana Executive Jets plans to

announce the addition of a new large-cabin business jet to its

fleet during this week’s MEBA show. According to sales man-ager Ahmed Shajeer, this move is in response to very strong growth in demand for char-ter flights that has stretched its capacity to the limits.

The company is based at Ras Al Khaimah here in the UAE. Its fleet currently con-sists of an Airbus A318 Elite, a Gulfstream GV, a Bombar-dier Challenger 604, a Hawker 800XP and an 800A. With the exception of the A318, which is operated purely for the use of its private owner, the other aircraft are owned directly by Dana (Stand C235), and are available for charter.

Next year, Dana intends to open a new operation in Saudi Arabia. According to Shajeer, it will be able to overcome the difficulties of establishing an AOC in the country because it already has secured local part-ners there. The company is also recruiting more pilots as well as sales and operational staff. o

Charter market starts to recover uContinued from page 44

Dana Executive Jet plans to add a new large-cabin business jet to its fleet, which includes this Gulfstream GV, a Challenger 604, two Hawkers 800s and an Airbus A318.


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