DUBAI: The Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show yesterday produced deals worth billions of dollars. After the opening ceremony at the Dubai Airport Expo, Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansoori, minister of economy and chairman of General Civil Aviation Authority, forecast robust growth in the Middle East charter jet market despite the global slowdown.
The event, organized by F&E Aerospace on behalf of the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), features 250 exhibitors and ends tomorrow. Yesterday, a number of deals were announced by major regional and international companies.
The largest deal of the day was by the Al-Jaber Group which declared its intention of becoming the newest VIP charter operator to join the ranks with an initial investment of $1.2 billion, representing a fleet of 21 aircraft from Embraer and Airbus. Al-Jaber Aviation (AJA) has placed a new firm order for two Airbus Corporate Jetliners (ACJs) and revealed a previously undisclosed order for two A318 Elites, adding to a previous deal for two A318 Elites. The order makes AJA the single largest customer for the Airbus ACJ Family in the Middle East, with total orders for six aircraft.
"Our Airbus ACJ Family aircraft will offer private travel in unprecedented comfort and style, providing families and companies with a new way to fly," says Al-Jaber Group Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Al-Jaber.
Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansoori assured gathered press and exhibitors at MEBA of the UAE government's commitment to growing the industry through state-of-the-art facilities and the emirates' open skies policy.
"The GCC region is now emerging as a powerful economic block. The $1 trillion GCC economy is a center-point on the global financial map and this growth supports the travel business, with the aviation sector making considerable inroads. Business aviation traffic in the UAE is witnessing steady and healthy growth and is estimated at 1,300 movements monthly," said Al-Mansoori, adding that the regional private jet industry was expected to grow from $500 million to $800 million annually by 2012.
Meanwhile, Prestige Jet announced the launch of Prestige Holding, which will own, manage and operate Prestige Jet and five other subsidiary companies, all related to aviation business.
Gaith Ben Hamel Al-Gaith, founder of Prestige Jet and chairman of Prestige Holding, also revealed the formation of two new subsidiaries, Prestige Invest and Prestige Flight Ambulance, as well as the acquisition of the highly-respected Madrid-based aircraft management charter services operator Flylink Express, to become the Prestige Jet Spain S.A., the company's launch-pad to Europe.
Prestige Holding also announced the development of three new Fixed Based Operations (FBOs) in Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain. The company has received its Air Operator Certificate from Doha.
In a statement, Cessna confirmed it had received an order for a Citation Sovereign from Arab Wings of Jordan and made good on the delivery of the same aircraft to Sovereign Jet, with the Abu Dhabi-based company considering the addition of a third plane to its fleet.
Cessna, in line with a trend that is seeing many companies look to the Middle East for continued growth, named Wallan Aviation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as an Authorized Citation Service Center for the region as well as TANEJA Aerospace & Aviation Ltd in India and Kinch Aviation in Nottinghamshire, England.
