Strong revenues from elevated oil prices and its position as a magnet for personal and corporate wealth continue to make Dubai the Middle East region’s preeminent hub for business aviation activity. That fact is quite apparent at this year’s Dubai Airshow, with new facilities opening at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH) at Al Maktoum International Airport, most notably the new ExecuJet FBO adjacent to the existing VIP terminal, which the airport’s CEO Tahnoon Saif described as state-of-the-art.
“They are putting the final touches to the FBO facility and lounges,” Saif told AIN in a pre-show interview. “The [Dassault ExecuJet MRO] hangars are ready and will add capacity to the area. It’s an important element that will increase the number of movements.”
Eager to encourage competition and diversity in service providers, Saif indicated that Jet Aviation’s plans could include a new maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility at MBRAH. “We’d love to see their MRO here, and an expansion for widebody [aircraft],” he said. The group, which is part of General Dynamics and a sister company to business jet manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace, already has MRO capability at Dubai International Airport for smaller private jets.
Meanwhile, Empire Aviation Group (EAG) already has started the development of a new facility next to the VIP Terminal that will offer office space, luxury food and beverage outlets, and a rooftop lounge for events. “The agreement is a land lease, with the development to their plans and requirements,” Saif explained. “We look forward to them finishing the facility. There is demand for office space and retail close to the VIP terminal.”
According to EAG, the multipurpose business facility sits in a prime location. It consists of the company’s new global corporate headquarters and houses operations control and continuing airworthiness maintenance organization [CAMO] teams for all group operations, plus a crew check-in and briefing area. “We anticipate breaking ground before the end of this year with the opening scheduled for around the end of 2024,” managing director Paras Dhamecha told AIN.
Official figures put the total number of business jet movements at MBRAH at more than 15,400 in 2022. Saif reported that in the first half of 2023, the airport saw about 7,300 business jet movements.
Ali Alnaqbi, founder and executive chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association, expects still more growth. “Today, Dubai’s near-term goal is 20,000 movements,” he told AIN. “People’s trust in the Middle East is growing, especially in the UAE, while demand is growing in Saudi Arabia.”
At the same time, the management of MBRAH wants to participate in the new wave of urban air mobility that could see new eVTOL air taxi services. The airport and the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) already have signed an agreement with infrastructure specialist VPorts to develop what it calls an “advanced air mobility integrator world center.” Local company Air Chateau International, which operates helicopters, also has set its sights on eVTOL operations.
“Air Chateau International has sourced one helicopter, in September, and two more are expected before the end of this year. Their helipad can also be used by other operators,” MBRAH’s Saif said. “[They] have an aggressive business plan, to be executed this year. They are building hangars and securing the helicopters.”
Building on the MRO service footprint already at MBRAH, Saif now seeks to attract a company focused on VIP aircraft cabin completions. As part of the mix of commercial airline and business aircraft MRO operations at the airport. Lufthansa Technik now performs aircraft maintenance, operations, and repairs there.
“I’m trying to bring in at least one completions player because an area like MBRAH needs to have the fundamentals of each vertical: a paint shop, a completions center, and a landside MRO component,” Saif said. “The paint shop is secured, but a completions center has not as of now been set up; we are trying to combine the efforts being made on the land side to create this value proposition.”
According to Saif, investments from international companies and the government in MBRAH already have totaled about $820 million since the airport opened. “MBRAH’s share will be mainly infrastructure, at 30 percent of that figure,” he said. “By 2026, I’m expecting we will be up to about $1.6 billion. We are expecting more investment in the next three years from our clients. In later years, it’ll grow even more.”
Saudi Arabia Now Back in Bizav Growth Mode
As dynamic a market as Dubai and its neighboring emirates are for the business aviation sector, some players want to diversify across the wider Gulf region. “Our UAE operations are being consolidated to provide a single-point interface for our clients with seamless coordination between aircraft management, FBO, MRO, and parking services,” Hardy Bütschi, Jet Aviation v-p for Middle East regional operations and general manager for Dubai, told AIN. “We are exploring the significant growth opportunities in Saudi Arabia and we fully support the country and its Vision 2030 [strategy],” he commented.
At MEBAA, Alnaqbi believes the chill imposed on Saudi business aviation after the anti-corruption drive in 2017 is coming to an end. “I think Saudi Arabia is on an upward curve,” he said. “They’re going to hit the numbers that used to be flying before the oil crisis of 2014-15, and the Ritz-Carlton issues [in 2017]. I’m expecting the Kingdom to continue growing at higher rates than in the past. I see nothing but healthy growth in Saudi Arabia, and we are supporting them 100 percent.”
Jet Aviation continues to grow its line maintenance footprint in Abu Dhabi and Jeddah, mainly to support sister company Gulf-
stream. “In Jeddah as well as in Riyadh, we are expanding our line maintenance capabilities and AOG footprint under GACA-145 and FAA repair station approvals in the Kingdom for the Gulfstream G-IV, G-V, G550, G650, BBJ, ACJ, and CL604, with the G700 to be added soon,” Bütschi said. “Additionally, we have extensive battery and wheel shops in Jeddah and Riyadh. We introduced MRO services [at OMDW] back in 2016 and are currently offering line maintenance and AOG services seven days a week.”
EAG’s Dhamecha said its aircraft management division continues to expand with the addition of a Boeing Business Jet and an Embraer Legacy 600 to its UAE registry, as well as a Bombardier Challenger 604 to its Nigeria fleet. “We will take another aircraft under management, late this year or early 2024,” he said. “Our charter fleet currently consists of the BBJ, Global 7500, three Global 6000s, one G650, two Legacy 650s, and one Legacy 600. Charter demand continues to be strong and we are seeing more interest in longer leasing periods.”
According to the Dubai-based group, aircraft sales transactions, charter bookings, and revenue have all remained firm. “There is strong international interest across all our services—aircraft management, aircraft sales, charter, and CAMO—from various sources, including wealthy individuals and families, corporates, and government,” he said. “We are consistently registering high double-digit growth, year on year. The prospects for 2024 look equally positive across all service lines.”
Global FBO group Jetex now has 37 facilities and three operations centers around the world today. CEO Adel Mardini said the company still hopes to reach 50 FBOs in the future. “Covid took two years,” he told AIN. “I need another two years. Today, my target is 2025, or 2026. I will achieve it, I have no doubt.”
The company has prioritized FBO acquisitions over organic growth, and, in certain locations, prefers 100 percent takeovers to joint ventures, as it now has the funds to do this. “This will help the network to grow,” he said. “Our targets are mainly in Europe but also involve Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. We don’t want to go beyond these regions.”
AIN’s requests for comment from UAE government officials on the effort to make sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) available at UAE airports during the COP 28 environmental summit opening on November 30 did not yield a response. However, Jet Aviation offers book-and-claim at its Middle East FBOs as an alternative, by decoupling physical flows from carbon-reduction benefits.
Business aviation support group UAS co-founder and CEO Omar Hosari said the uptake for SAF in the region remains low, despite efforts to encourage it. “The major obstacle is that operators need to know that once they make the switch, SAF will be widely available to them globally, as well as being affordable,” he told AIN. “Unfortunately, right now this is not the case. We would be delighted to see the Middle East become a production hub for SAF and lead the charge and set an example for the entire world to follow.”
Returning Demand for New Private Aircraft
Simon Davies, sales director for the UK, Middle East, Africa, Turkey, India, and Eastern Canada with aircraft financing group Global Jet Capital, noted that following the disruptions of the Covid pandemic, he had started to see demand for financing return to the region as the market becomes more robust with more owners electing to upgrade their aircraft.
“We received many inquiries specifically related to owners who have purchased or were in the process of acquiring a new aircraft where their deliveries were scheduled for 2024 or even into 2025,” he told AIN. “Based on this data, we expect the robust market in the Middle East will continue in 2024 as owners sell their existing aircraft to take delivery of their new aircraft.”
Middle Eastern buyers have shown a strong preference for new aircraft over the past decade-plus, he believes. He expects that trend to continue, noting that only Europe accounts for a higher percentage of new deliveries between 2023 and 2027.
“Overall, we expect healthy growth in new deliveries all around the world, and the Middle East is part of that growth story,” Davies said. “It should be noted that the preowned market will also be strong in the region at a projected 70 percent of transactions. As a financier of new and preowned aircraft, Global Jet Capital keeps a close eye on both segments of the market.”
DC Aviation Al Futtaim VIP Terminal celebrates its tenth year of operations at MBRAH this year and considers Dubai the preeminent location in the region. “If you look at business aviation, I think it is safe to assume that Dubai remains the hub in the Middle East,” Holger Ostheimer, managing director of DC Aviation Al Futtaim VIP Terminal, told AIN.
Strong revenues from elevated oil prices and its position as a magnet for personal and corporate wealth continue to make Dubai the Middle East region’s pre-eminent hub for business aviation activity. That fact is quite apparent at this year’s Dubai Airshow, with new facilities opening at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH) at Al Maktoum International Airport, most notably the new ExecuJet FBO adjacent to the existing VIP terminal, which the airport’s CEO Tahnoon Saif described as state-of-the-art.
“They are putting the final touches to the FBO facility and lounges,” Saif told AIN in a pre-show interview. “The [Dassault ExecuJet MRO] hangars are ready and will add capacity to the area. It’s an important element that will increase the number of movements.”
Eager to encourage competition and diversity in service providers, Saif indicated that Jet Aviation’s plans could include a new MRO facility at MBRAH. “We’d love to see their MRO here, and an expansion for widebody [aircraft],” he said. The group, which is part of General Dynamics and a sister company to business jet manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace, already has MRO capability at Dubai International Airport for smaller private jets.
Meanwhile, Empire Aviation Group (EAG) already has started the development of a new facility next to the VIP Terminal that will offer office space, luxury food and beverage outlets, and a rooftop lounge for events. “The agreement is a land lease, with the development to their plans and requirements,” Saif explained. “We look forward to them finishing the facility. There is demand for office space and retail close to the VIP terminal.”
According to EAG, the multipurpose business facility sits in a prime location. It consists of the company’s new global corporate headquarters and houses operations control and continuing airworthiness maintenance organization [CAMO] teams for all group operations, plus a crew check-in and briefing area. “We anticipate breaking ground before the end of this year with the opening scheduled for around the end of 2024,” managing director Paras Dhamecha told AIN.
Official figures put the total number of business jet movements at MBRAH at more than 15,400 in 2022. Saif reported that in the first half of 2023, the airport saw about 7,300 business jet movements.
Ali Alnaqbi, founder and executive chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association, expects still more growth. “Today, Dubai’s near-term goal is 20,000 movements,” he told AIN. “People’s trust in the Middle East is growing, especially in the UAE, while demand is growing in Saudi Arabia.”
At the same time, the management of MBRAH wants to participate in the new wave of urban air mobility that could see new eVTOL air taxi services. The airport and the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) already have signed an agreement with infrastructure specialist VPorts to develop what it calls an “advanced air mobility integrator world center.” Local company Air Chateau International, which operates helicopters, also has set its sights on eVTOL operations.
“Air Chateau International has sourced one helicopter, in September, and two more are expected before the end of this year. Their helipad can also be used by other operators,” MBRAH’s Saif said. “[They] have an aggressive business plan, to be executed this year. They are building hangars and securing the helicopters.”
Building on the MRO service footprint already at MBRAH, Saif now seeks to attract a company focused on VIP aircraft cabin completions. As part of the mix of commercial airline and business aircraft MRO operations at the airport. Lufthansa Technik now performs aircraft maintenance, operations, and repairs there.
“I’m trying to bring in at least one completions player because an area like MBRAH needs to have the fundamentals of each vertical: a paint shop, a completions center, and a landside MRO component,” Saif said. “The paint shop is secured, but a completions center has not as of now been set up; we are trying to combine the efforts being made on the land side to create this value proposition.”
According to Saif, investments from international companies and the government in MBRAH already have totaled about $820 million since the airport opened. “MBRAH’s share will be mainly infrastructure, at 30 percent of that figure,” he said. “By 2026, I’m expecting we will be up to about $1.6 billion. We are expecting more investment in the next three years from our clients. In later years, it’ll grow even more.”