Middle East market poised for steady long-term growth

Business aviation in the Middle East is expected to keep growing at a faster rate than that seen in North America and Europe, but slower than the more dynamic expansion now being seen in the emerging markets of Asia.

This is the broad consensus among manufacturers and service providers for a region that is now emerging from a somewhat unsettled two-year period that has seen some fallout from wider economic problems and the so-called Arab Spring political unrest.

According to Bombardier’s most recent market forecast, the Middle East will receive 1,175 new business jets between 2011 and 2030, with 410 to be delivered through 2020 and a further 765 between 2021 and 2030. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 7 percent–less than half the 18-percent increase that was achieved in the market between 2004 and 2010.