BUSINESS AVIATION NEWS
Business Aviators Not To Be Eclipsed By Commercial Counterparts At Airshow
Business aviation operators believe Middle East sector is primed for growth and hope the Airshow will attract investment in the market prior to Expo 2020 next year
The business aviation market is well represented at the Dubai Airshow, with a number of key players optimistic about driving interest and attracting investment in the regional sector during the week.
While the focus has largely been on large airline orders and service agreements so far, business aviation operators believe the sector demands attention at the Airshow.
Speaking at the show, Ali Ahmed Alnaqbi, founder of MEBAA and chairman of IBAC, said that the Middle East’s business aviation market is poised for “exciting developments” and growth next year, and hopes the Airshow will be a platform for investment.
“The future is bright for business aviation in the Middle East. When everything settles down [politically], you can see the growth potential.
“I think 2020 is going to be a year that is very exciting for our activities and for business aviation in the region. Expo covers the whole region. It’s going to attract a lot of traffic and this traffic will generate an interest in the latest products and technology.
“People will realise we have the infrastructure here, and they will ask themselves: ‘Why don’t we come to the UAE and start operations or join in a venture with an existing company?’”
Empire Aviation announced at the show a new aircraft management operation based in Cairo, Egypt, which will see a Bombardier Global 6000 brought into the fleet.
Paras Dhamecha, co-founder of Empire Aviation, said that the deal “brings us something new and there’s a lot of excitement in that market already”.
Following the announcement, Dhamecha said the company has received contact from a number of interested parties.
He said: “Business aviation here is still in its infancy when you compare it to other parts of the world. The region is becoming ever more global. Socio-economically, the area has been a bit unstable over the last few years but I don’t think that has affected the business overall for us. Charter took a bit of dip but in the last six months, that has picked up again.
“We’ve started doing charter management. Charter is going to see a huge upswing. There are going to be a lot of people who need to get in here. We’re excited about 2020; I definitely think for airports and for people like ourselves, traffic is going to more than double, easily.”
He added: “Is a private aircraft going to compete against a commercial one? No. It is usually more expensive to operate a private aircraft. However, if you want to cover three countries in Africa and have a day to do it, there’s no other way than a private aircraft. Where time is money, this is the way to do it.”
Meanwhile, Dassault Aviation showcased its ultra-long range large cabin Falcon 8X flagship and 900LX at the event.
The company is using the Airshow to promote its wide-body Falcon 6X, currently in development. A full-scale cabin mockup of the large twinjet is featured on tarmac.
“We expect the Gulf region to be a major driver for our ultra widebody Falcon 6X, as it is already proving to be for our Falcon 8X flagship,” said Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier.
“The Middle East has always been a key market for Falcon aircraft, whose efficiency, cabin comfort and value for money are particularly appreciated by local operators.”
New ‘Two-Minute’ Carbon Offset Tool To Pierce Private Jet Market
A new tool has launched for the private jet charter industry which allows companies to calculate their carbon offset needs in a quicker and easier way than traditional methods.
Paramount Business Jets (PBJ)’s new resource is designed to allow private jet passengers to mitigate pollution generated by their flight for comparatively minimal financial or time cost.
The company claims that its ‘Easy Private Jet Carbon Offset System’ can calculate the carbon needing to be offset in just two minutes. The tool is being opened up to the whole industry, including PBJ’s competitors.
It works by calculating the carbon needing to be offset and suggesting leading carbon offset organisations who can directly accept offset donations.
A new tool has launched for the private jet charter industry which allows companies to calculate their carbon offset needs in a quicker and easier way than traditional methods.
Paramount Business Jets (PBJ)’s new resource is designed to allow private jet passengers to mitigate pollution generated by their flight for comparatively minimal financial or time cost.
The company claims that its ‘Easy Private Jet Carbon Offset System’ can calculate the carbon needing to be offset in just two minutes. The tool is being opened up to the whole industry, including PBJ’s competitors.
It works by calculating the carbon needing to be offset and suggesting leading carbon offset organisations who can directly accept offset donations.
“Even when that data could be found, it was generally at least a two-day process to secure an offset. It became very clear that our clients desire to lessen their environmental impact could only be met if we developed a system that recognised that time is typically the limiting factor for many private jet users.
“Our system allows private jet charter clients to calculate the carbon to be offset while connecting private aviation clients with effective carbon offsetting partners in less than two minutes.”
Zaher added: “Our industry has always strived to be environmentally responsible, and these efforts have taken on even greater importance as we've seen a growing list of international movements targeting private aviation.
“This tool helps to fight back against climate change and global warming, by empowering private jet clients to calculate their carbon offset and direct them to partners, removing the weight of research and time associated with this process in the past.
“Now for the first time, every private aircraft charter company in the world may offer an end to end solution to their customers to offset the pollution caused by their flight, at no cost to those companies.”
Missile Countermeasures Planned For Airbus Corporate Jets
Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) and Sabena technics are to co-operate in proposing self-protection systems (SPSs) for Airbus corporate jets.
Each SPS would combine an existing directional infra-red countermeasure (DIRCM) system with installation on an Airbus corporate jet.
SPSs will initially be offered for the ACJ320 Family.
An SPS offers protection against missiles fired from man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS), which are the most widespread missile-threat today.
Self-defence systems are already in service on some Airbus corporate jets.
The co-operation agreement was signed at the NBAA show, by Sabena technics senior VP sales and business development Daniel Soltani and ACJ president Benoit Defforge.
“This is a great new opportunity to work with ACJ on aircraft protection, which builds on an extensive portfolio of business-aviation services that includes cabin-outfitting and maintenance,” said Daniel Soltani.
“We strongly believe that our ability to install and certificate these systems with airworthiness authorities, such as EASA and the FAA, is a key driver of success.”
Defforge said: “Offering self-protection is yet another way in which we care for our customers, and expands and consolidates the widespread range of modern aircraft and services that ACJ offers.
Around 200 Airbus corporate jets are in service worldwide, flying on every continent, including Antarctica.
