XOJet Plans Abu Dhabi Joint Venture

XOJet, the San Carlos, Calif.-based on-demand charter company with a fleet of Cessna Citation Xs, said today at EBACE that it has secured $2.46 billion in financing to fund a plan to expand further both in North America and internationally. The main drive of XOJet’s international expansion will be focused on the Middle East, and to that end the company has signed a deal with Tasameem Real Estate Company of Abu Dhabi to create a new joint venture. XOJet CEO Paul Touw told AIN that the business would start there “immediately,” although it could take six months to obtain an air operator’s certificate from the UAE government. XOJet’s charter fleet currently stands at 20 aircraft, with one or two aircraft expected to be added each month over the next three-and-a-half years. Deliveries of Bombardier Challenger 300s–XOJet placed a firm order for 80 of the super-midsize jets at the NBAA Convention in September–will begin this fall. In all, the company plans to have 127 twinjets in operation by 2012.