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High fliers

While the global business aviation market is now in decline, private jet companies in the Middle East are still seeing growth, with passengers ranging from presidents to patients, reports Shane McGinley
"We don't take average people," John Morgan, vice president of Royal Jet , joked in the regal setting of the private aviator's stand at the recent Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai.

Although looking at how the commercial airline market is currently performing they may soon be obliged to, as the options for business flyers are becoming limited.

This week, Qantas Airways said it was cutting its first class service on some routes and also announced they were joining Singapore Airlines by charging passengers an extra $62 per ticket for extra long seats in economy class.

British Airways had already confirmed that its premium bookings had declined by 13 per cent and it was cutting first class from its new planes.

The International Air Transport Association predicts that premium services will pick up again once the recession eases, which airlines must be counting on as the front of the plane often accounts for up to half of an aircraft's revenue.

Royal Jet began operating in May 2003, is chaired by HE Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan and is the commercial arm of the Presidential Flight Authority [PFA]. The PFA was set up to provide private jet services for Middle Eastern high-net-worth individuals and VIPs.

The company is currently home to the largest fleet of Boeing Business Jets in the world and they claim that the private jet market in the Middle East is performing well in the face of the global recession.

"Since our inception we have been a profitable company, and every year since then, Royal Jet has shown a steady growth in its profits," said CEO Shane O'Hare. "Even in the current global economic downturn, we are maintaining the strong perform-ance we showed in 2008 with a further increase in first quarter earnings compared with a year ago. This comes on top of a 17 per cent increase in profits over 2008 as a whole and a 21 per cent increase in revenue."

Accounting for 16 per cent of the market, Royal Jet 's customers are indeed not very 'average' and consist of government officials, corporate decision makers, sporting and show business celebrities, high end specialist travel providers, insurance companies, the health care sector and many more.

The corporate sector has been impacted by the downturn and O'Hare said it has declined by around 30 per cent, however he points out that luckily this sector only accounts for 20 per cent of their business.

Last year, the company began a policy of diversification so that it would not be too dependent on the vulnerable corporate market. It has moved into the aircraft management sector and is also focusing on Royal Med, the company's medevac division.

Medevac, consists of aero-medical evacuations and services, and is one sector that has seen an increase. Royal Jet reports that it has seen a 40 per cent growth in such missions over the past year.

The company's medevac divis-ion consists of 15 paramedics and intensive care nurses, ten doctors and consultants who specialise in neo-natal, paediatric and adult clinical disciplines and has intensive care facilities, such as ventilators, electrocardiograms and neo-natal transport incubators. The 'ambulances in the skies' have flown patients to Europe, Asia, India, the US and other parts of the Middle East.

Royal Jet is based in Abu Dhabi and the capital is now home to Al Bateen Executive Airport, which is promoted as the only dedicated luxury business jet airport in the Middle East and North Africa. The Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) is currently spending $55 million upgrading the airport's facilities. "We are very proud of Al Bateen Executive Airport, and we know there is increasing demand for the type of facility that we offer," said Mohammed Al Bulooki, a vice president at ADAC .

NetJets, which is a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, offers fractional ownership and rental of private business jets and is actively targeting the Middle East market. It has launched its 'Summer Card' scheme, which is aimed at Middle Eastern customers planning to spend their holidays in Europe this summer. Netjets reported that last year the most popular locations for Middle East customers were London, Geneva, Paris, Nice and Cannes and over 60 per cent of flights took place between June and August.

Time Saving by Jet?
A report by Royal Jet sets out to show that flying by private jet can save corporate bosses by up to 30 per cent. The theory goes that the average Middle East banker earns $276,500, which is equal to $173 an hour. They claim that for return flights from Abu Dhabi to Riyadh for a 10am meeting an executive wastes 13.2 hours by taking commercial flights, compared to only 0.8 by private jet. This, say Royal Jet , is because a jet does not require long check in times, executives can work while inflight and the jet can take off and leave on demand. The report adds that when an overnight stay, meals and expenses are added to the value of the time an executive wastes the commercial flights total cost is $16,160, compared to the jet's total of $10,991. Time equals money they say. A copy of the report can be obtained from 7DAYS, if you want to try and test the theory out on your company's accountant!

© 7Days 2009