MEBAA Convention News 12-07-16

MEBAA

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12.7.16 • DUBAI

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ALL WINGS, LARGE AND SMALL

DAVID McINTOSH

Business aviation is all about the wind beneath your wings that only an aircraft can bring. That can mean a four-engine airliner outfitted for global travel, or a nimble turboprop that can get in and out of the shortest, roughest of strips. They're all part of the offerings to be found on the static aircraft display at the MEBAA show.

Dubai’s VIP Terminal assumes center stage

DAVID McINTOSH

by Peter Shaw-Smith

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman and CEO of Emirates cuts the ribbon opening the 2016 edition of the MEBAA show. His Highness later toured the show site, visiting with exhibitors at their stands and on the static aircraft display line. See details on page 37.

Flight Support

Regional Bizav

Dubair Airports

Deer Jet Acquires UAS Majority

MEBAA Poised For Region’s Growth

The large Chinese fleet operator and management firm helps facilitate its future expansion by allying with a worldwide flight support provider. Page 6

The association says it’s well-positioned to support industry needs when economic, political and bureaucrtic headwinds begin to subside. Page 8

Jetex officially opened its new FBO within the Dubai World Central VIP Terminal on Tuesday. The flight support group is one of two FBOs already operating within the new facility, with a third tenant to be announced soon.

Back in April, Jetex handled the very first private flight to depart the terminal—an Embraer Legacy heading to the Maldives. The VIP terminal, which is also occupied by Falcon Aviation, is seeing growing volumes of business aviation traffic, which is transferring from

the slot-restricted Dubai International Airport. It is an exceptional design, boasting wide open, naturally-lit space decorated with artwork.

Jetex occupies a 1,500-squaremeter (16,146-square-foot) portion of the new terminal. With the addition of around 50,000 sq m (538,196 sq ft) of dedicated ramp parking space, the DWC site is now the largest FBO in the Dubai-based group’s worldwide network.

On-site customs and immigration, comprehensive ground and baggage handling, fueling and

Continued on page 37 u

SSBJ Update

Operations

Bizav Leads Transition From DXB

Gulfstream Patents Supersonic Tech

DCAF Positioned For Growth

In advance of Dubai World Central Airport becoming the city’s primary facility in 2025, business aviation already has a strong presence there. Page 18

The airframer is committed to research sonic-boom technologies and continues working to eliminate the existing ban on supersonic flight over land. Page 26

The full-service FBO, MRO and aircraft management company’s diversification means it’s likely in the lead when the region’s economy takes off once again. Page 32

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MEBAA

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2 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

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GÖZEN SUPPORTS Dubai World Central BIZAV IN 8-10 TURKEY December 2014

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to passengers. The GoDirect portal and access tools allow RUAG operators to manage passenger access and see information on data consumption for each aircraft. The GoDirect filter further enables HADID streamlining and prioritization of in-flight data use “to improve speeds and manage a betterROCKWELL experiALPHA COLLINS SABENA STAR ence for passengers.”

Honeywell also announced the new CNX-900 cabin netSNECMA ATLANTIC FUELEX router, which in addiwork tion to running GoDirect software, adds newSKYPLAN Wi-Fi technology allowing downloading of large files, video UNIVERSAL SHELL WEATHER streaming, linking to a VPN and the ability to WORLD connect AVICON FUEL AVJET SERVICES more devicesROUTING to the internet.

The older CNX-200 router LUFTHANSA will soon be upgradeable with FOKKER TECHNIK new software, which removes end-of-life status for that unit. The upgrade includes the ability to run GoDirect software and will be available at the end of 2016. o

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in-flight systems has grown so complex, so it is important that operators can access all the services and support they need from a single provider.”

He also noted that GoDirect makes it easy to switch between restricted-use connectivity for, say, charter passengers, and the aircraft owner or principal, who likely wants and is willing to pay for unrestricted access.

“This means that our customers can get control of data bills that we’ve seen increasing over the past three to five years by around 30 to 50 percent in some cases,” explainedITP Peterson. “They want tools to allow them to get control of this so that they can make decisions on connectivity usage that both meet their needs and allow them to stay on budget, or at least be able to make conscious decisions about going over budget.”

The GoDirect cabin connectivity suite includes the satellite communications network and satellite communications toolkit, used to help operators monitor the network, troubleshoot problems and make configuration changes.

GoDirect routing software automatically manages connections between available connectivity channels, according to Honeywell, to help provide uninterrupted service

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Middle Eastern business aviation continues to attract enthusiastic participants from all walks of life, and from all other regions of the world.

370

DAVID McINTOSH

EAST MEETS WEST

Honeywell Aerospace (Stand 549) has rolled out new support tools aimed at giving operators better control over their business aircraft satellite communications systems.

The new GoDirect cabin connectivity suite of services gives operators direct access to their aircraft’s connectivity network via mobile devices or an online portal.

GoDirect allows operators to put in place limitations on available data rates, so that, for example, passengers and crew might not be permitted to activate data-heavy software upgrades for their electronic devices. Operators can also isolate the costs associated with connectivity, which might be especially helpful for those who are flying different groups of passengers under different terms and conditions (for example, a charter flight versus a mission for the aircraft owner). Another way operators can use GoDirect is to gain visibility into their connectivity services for troubleshooting, networking and onboard data management.

“Expectations of fast and consistent connections are second nature in the minds of passengers, said John Peterson, Honeywell Aerospace director of customer and product support. “Troubleshooting support issues for

THE PRODUCTION TEAM F&E/ MonaP3 L. Brown John A. Manfredo MEBAA Grzegorz Rzekos Alena Korenkov

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PRODUCTION EDITOR – Lysbeth McAleer

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AMAC AEROSPACE

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GROUP PRODUCTION MANAGER – Tom Hurley

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STATIC DISPLAY

Kerry Lynch Peter Shaw-Smith Matt Thurber James Wynbrandt

is located on the first floor

MEBAA Convention News is a publication of The Convention News Co., Inc., 214 Franklin Ave., Midland Park, NJ 07432; Tel.: +1 201 444 5075. Copyright © 2016. All rights ­reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part w ­ ithout permission of The Convention News Co., Inc. is strictly prohibited. The Convention News Co., Inc. also publishes Aviation International News, AINalerts, AIN Defense Perspective, AIN Air Transport Perspective, Business Jet Traveler, ABACE Convention News, EBACE Convention News, HAI Convention News, LABACE Convention News, NBAA Convention News, Dubai Airshow News, Farnborough Airshow News, Paris Airshow News, and Singapore Airshow News.

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Regional FBO challenges identified

MEET AND GREET Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman and CEO of Emirates, stops by a stand during his tour of the exhibit floor on MEBAA 2016’s opening day.

GDC Technics lands 787 completion contracts

by Kerry Lynch While conceding that the business aviation market is heading for “interesting times,” GDC Technics (Stand 698) is capping off a recent few months in which the company has received multiple awards, including a nine-aircraft contract for 787 completions. The award, through Boeing and a customer of the aircraft, calls for engineering work on the 787s to begin in 2018 and stretches the GDC backlog to 2022.

While not disclosing the customer, GDC CEO Charles Celli said the aircraft would be fitted for part-VIP, part-commercial use.

The contract is in addition to the two 787s at GDC facilities now undergoing work that are slated for completion in the second and third quarter of next year.

Speaking to AIN yesterday here at MEBAA, Mohammed Alzeer, general partner of GDC Technics, said the contracts come as the company has spent the past two years preparing for the next five years. “It is no secret that these are tough times for the completions business,” Alzeer said. “While new aircraft sales have slipped, the

number of VVIP completion centers has mushroomed, and that combination creates risk for the customer.”

He noted GDC has spent more than $20 million to develop new technologies in the past two years to be prepared for the customer base. While stressing this is how the industry should operate, many wait for the customer before developing the technology, he said.

Along with investing in technologies, the company has improved its processes to increase efficiency three-fold and reduce operations costs over the past 18 months, he said. This is paying dividends in a backlog that he said is among the healthiest in the industry.

Even with the recent contracts, which also include work on a 777, Celli said GDC has plenty of capacity for additional work with more than one million square feet split between its facilities in Fort Worth and San Antonio, Texas.

Another area of concentration for GDC Technics is the Honeywell Ka-Band JetWave installations, he said. In anticipation of a growing market, the company has been working on

Various challenges facing the regional business aviation industry’s FBO sector were addressed at the MEBAA Conference on Monday (December 5), as a number of factors hampering progress were identified. Stakeholders set out a vision for the future in a panel titled, “The Importance of FBOs at Airports.”

Ahmed Al Ansari, acting CEO, Dubai South, said that the importance of business aviation to the future success of Al Maktoum International Airport (AMIA) was clearly recognized both by government and industry. “As Sheikh Mohammed once said…we are trying to [create] the aviation capital of the world in Dubai. That’s bound to affect all the programs and initiatives to build the ecosystem,” he said. “[The scope of the airport’s future] is not limited to business aviation, but the whole

aviation industry. Strategically, we know how important business aviation is for any airport,” added Ansari.

Adel Mardini, Jetex president and CEO, stressed his commitment to the long-term at DWC, despite the current industry malaise. “Definitely, our investment in Dubai South is for the long-term,” he said.

Mardini is looking to bid for new FBO facilities around the region and beyond, and the lack of infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, where FBOs are present only at its international airports in Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Medina, signals new opportunities to set up additional facilities at 24 other regional airports.

“We can see new development in Saudi Arabia and Oman, with the new airport [terminal and FBO set-up in Muscat]. There is a chance for a licence or two in Oman. There is an expansion

in infrastructure in airports in the region. There will be good growth in future,” he said.

FBO operators have to be sensitive to the country they are operating in. Mardini said that the regulations in different international jurisdictions make standardizing the same FBO product in various locations difficult. “Jetex operates FBOs at 11 airports. Each airport has its own rules and regulations, and [the framework to be applied] is something that [only] the countries themselves [can decide],” he said.

The issue of how best to configure the interest from service-providers to best meet the needs of the airport’s development is topical. DWC is understood to have halted the licensing of new FBO players until 20,000 movements take place a year, a development that may transpire around the time of Expo 2020. o

multiple STCs for various aircraft. This work is being accomplished ahead of the customer flow, but Alzeer believes it will position GDC to be ready for the market and will facilitate a smoother, quicker installation process. The first customer aircraft, an A319, is expected to arrive for a JetWave installation in the spring. GDC, however, anticipates having an STC in hand early in 2017.

As GDC fills its business in the U.S., it continues to eye expansion of its global reach. In addition to having affiliates in Germany and the U.K., GDC is considering moving into Africa. Alzeer noted that the company has had business in Morocco and said he sees a need for completions and modifications capability throughout Africa. He estimated that such an operation would take about three years to establish. o

High-Speed Connections

Mohammed Alzeer, general partner of GDC Technics, says his company has a healthy backlog of completion customers and projects.

DAVID McINTOSH

DAVID McINTOSH

by Peter Shaw-Smith

With new satellite networks promising dramatically improved speeds and reliability and lower operating costs, GDC Technic general partner Mohammed Alzeer sees large demand for these next-generation high bandwidth connectivity solutions.

“I think connectivity is something every aircraft owner is seeking right now,” Alzeer said.

Three years ago here in Dubai, GDC signed an agreement to develop installations for H ­ oneywell’s JetWave system, which utilizes Inmarsat’s Ka-band Global Xpress service, for green aircraft and retrofits.

“Today we have solutions for the Airbus 320 family, the Boeing 737 family, the 747, 777, and in the first quarter we’ll develop a solution for the Airbus 330-340 family,” Alzeer said. GDC has Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) from the FAA and EASA for installations of the JetWave antenna, router, and “all the hardware required to enable the airplane to connect with satellites, and to have a wireless signal available within the cabin.”

GDC can install a JetWave system in two to three weeks, Alzeer said, and also has the capability to develop connectivity solutions for satellite networks from providers including Iridium, Panasonic and ViaSat. —J.W.

www.ainonline.com • December 7, 2016 • MEBAA Convention News 3

HondaJet pilot wings it to Dubai for type’s debut Flying the HondaJet to Dubai for its MEBAA show debut naturally involved a few extra stops for Mike Finbow, sales demonstration pilot for HondaJet Northern Europe. But overall, the weather was nearly perfect and the tailwinds strong. Finbow departed from Chester, UK, on December 2 in HondaJet M-HNDA (serial number 18, Isle of Man registration) and landed in Dubai on December 3.

The HondaJet’s maximum range while carrying four passengers and reserve fuel is 1,223 nautical miles, so Finbow made three stops on the way to Dubai. On the first day, he flew from Chester to Bari Palese Airport on southern Italy’s Adriatic coastline, a distance of 1,075 nm in two hours, 52 minutes. After refueling, he continued another 527 nm and 1.5 hours to Heraklion on the Greek island Crete, where he spent the night.

The following day, the first leg was 653 nm to Hurghada Airport in eastern Egypt. The final leg was the longest at 1,168 nm (as the crow flies) but 1,280 nm as routed over the width of Saudi Arabia then Bahrain and into Dubai. That leg took two hours, 56 minutes’ flight time and 2,300 pounds of fuel, leaving plenty of fuel (550 pounds) in reserve.

The flight’s block time from Egypt was slightly longer than the flight time because the runway and ramp configuration at Hurghada required a

15-minute taxi to position the HondaJet on the appropriate runway for takeoff, according to Finbow. He believes the Egypt-Dubai leg might have set an unofficial speed record for the HondaJet, which can cruise at up to 422 knots and as high as 43,000 feet. “This is my first time in Dubai,” he said. “The weather was gin clear” when he arrived after sunset on Saturday evening after watching the sun set over the Saudi Arabian desert.

Before adding the HondaJet type rating in May, Finbow had been flying a Cessna Citation Bravo for about seven years and more recently a Citation Mustang, both of which he flies for Birmingham-based Marshall Aircraft Sales. That company holds the HondaJet Northern Europe dealership covering the UK north of London and the Channel Islands, Scandinavia and the Benelux countries. He is one of two European pilots currently type rated in the HondaJet, although that number will certainly grow as more HondaJets are delivered in Europe. The HA-420 HondaJet received EASA certification in May, and on November 23, the FAA issued the HondaJet’s flightinto-known-icing certification.

The HondaJet here in Dubai is the first delivered in the UK and the second in Europe. Finbow flew it to Birmingham from the Honda Aircraft factory in Greensboro, North

MATT THURBER

by Matt Thurber

HondaJet Northern Europe sales demonstration pilot Mike Finbow pauses in front of his ride.

Carolina, starting on May 13, immediately after receiving his type rating, along with a Honda factory pilot. That flight went from Greensboro to Bangor, Maine; Iqaluit, Canada; Kangerlussuaq, Greenland; Reykjavik, Iceland; then Birmingham for a total flight time of about 12 hours.

Finbow praised the FlightSafety International HondaJet type-rating training program in Greensboro, especially the training tools that brought him up to speed on the jet’s Garmin G3000 flight deck before he even got to the simulator. “When I got into the simulator,” he said, “I felt like I had been in the aircraft 100 times. I knew where everything was and exactly what it was doing.”

Including the trip to Dubai, Finbow has now accumulated 60 hours in the HondaJet. “I love it,” he said. “It’s really a joy to fly, it does everything so well.” He also praised the fit and finish of the light jet. “It’s like getting out of an [old car] into a new Mercedes-Benz.” o

DC AVIATION, LUFTHANSA TECHNIK COOPERATION COMPLETES FIRST A-CHECK DC Aviation Group and Lufthansa Technik, which in May announced a cooperation agreement to provide a range of services at Al Maktoum International Airport (Dubai World Central) in Dubai, recently completed their first A-check for an Airbus A319. The A-check was performed for an undisclosed customer from the region in the hangars of the DC Aviation and Al-Futtaim joint venture, DC Aviation Al-Futtaim (DCAF, Stand 682).

The inspection, which took about 350 man hours, involved checks of all systems relevant to flight safety, exchanging a number of components, completing service bulletins, and testing the ram air turbine.

As part of the cooperation agreement, the companies are offering regular checks and maintenance services, including for aircraft on ground (AOG). The cooperation also includes aircraft cabin services and minor modifications, and plans call for the addition of mobile aircraft and cabin services for the region.

DCAF’s hangar, spanning 5,700 square meters (61,355 square feet), has space to accommodate business jets and VIP aircraft up to the size of an Airbus A320 or Boeing 737.

Fixed-base operations services are also provided at the DCAF facility, which includes a 1,300-square-meter (14,000-square-foot) terminal offering a range of amenities for passengers and pilots. The services include fueling, catering and transport services. The facility also hosts customs clearance around-the-clock.

In addition, Lufthansa (Stand 500)/DC Aviation cooperation also is jointly offering aircraft management and charter services.

—K.L.

Leading Gulf-based charter operator Royal Jet recently added two new Boeing Business Jets to its fleet. One of these is grabbing attention here on the MEBAA show static display thanks to a very distinctive interior that makes extensive use of carbon fiber to give a very modern look. The aircraft can seat up to 34 passengers, with a mix of different grades of seating across three cabin segments. There is also a full stateroom with en-suite bathroom.

High-speed internet capability is available through a Ka-band connection.

4 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

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Deer Jet acquires majority of UAS Int’l Trip Support

by Matt Thurber Just prior to the opening of this year’s MEBAA show, Deer Jet concluded its acquisition of the majority of shares of flight support provider UAS International Trip Support. Deer Jet is a wholly owned subsidiary of China’s HNA Group, and it operates and manages 90 aircraft, including the Dream Jet, the world’s only Boeing 787 in VIP configuration.

The acquisition makes UAS the flight support partner for those 90 aircraft, and it will also be able to serve HNA Group’s 21 airlines.

One result of the share acquisition is that UAS will provide flight support services for delivering new aircraft for HNA airlines, which will involve about 150 aircraft in the next few years.

UAS (Stand 563) has continental headquarters in Houston, Texas; Johannesburg, South Africa; Hong Kong; and Dubai, plus regional offices in Africa, China and India and ground presence at 23 locations globally.

UAS Group co-owners and founders Mohammed Husary, executive vice president, and Omar Hosari, CEO, will continue as executive management of the company. “We’re delighted that this partnership

is now ratified,” said Husary.

“It is the result of a long period of discussion and negotiation between our two companies.” Negotiations had been underway for 18 months to two years, he said, and were a result of Deer Jet’s being a UAS customer. “We used to provide services for them, and they realized that UAS was a leading company in the flight support industry. They’re always looking to acquire full shares or a majority of share in aviation companies, so they approached us for a partnership proposal.”

Although Husary can’t reveal how many shares of UAS Deer Jet now owns, the existing shareholders still own shares of UAS. The purchase by Deer Jet will help UAS grow, he added.

“That was the motivation for UAS to enter this partnership.

We had a long-term strategy and business plan for 2020, and this partnership basically accelerates achieving the goals of this plan. Business is going to grow, and there is a lot of synergy that we’re going to extract from the group. We’ve already started hiring and increasing operations around the world,

(left to right) Omar Hosari, UAS CEO; Zhang Peng, Deer Jet chairman and president; Mohammed Husary, UAS executive president.

Deer Jet liked the company so much, it bought a majority of its shares in a deal that closed just before MEBAA 2016’s opening.

especially in China.” Husary expects UAS’s Beijing office to become as large as its Dubai and Houston offices, although Houston itself is growing as well. The company’s New Delhi operations center may also see some growth as business aviation expands in India.

“I’m very optimistic for the MEBAA show,” said Husary.

“Growth in business aviation flights is better here than other regions, and we see visitors to MEBAA coming from Asia more than what we see at the [European] EBACE and [U.S.] NBAA shows.”

“From an operational viewpoint,” added Hosari, “we’ve ironed out the finer points and are

currently finalizing our mid- to long-term business plan. Our clients can now expect a broadened range of services delivered to the same levels of efficiency, quality and operational excellence they have come to expect from us.”

Deer Jet chairman and president Zhang Peng said, “After founding Hongkong Jet and acquiring shares of Asia Jet, Hawker Pacific and UAS, Deer Jet will continue to expand its global range through strategic partnerships with the best companies in the world of business aviation.” Deer Jet’s fleet serves 820 airports in 180 countries and territories. The company was founded in 1995 and was the first business jet operator in China. o

DAVID McINTOSH

Jetcraft brought its Falcon 7X to MEBAA, along with an Embraer Legacy 650.

Jetcraft eyes steady regional expansion

by Kerry Lynch Eying an expanding market in the Middle East, aircraft broker Jetcraft (Chalet P7) has brought a Dassault Falcon 7X and Embraer Legacy 650 to the MEBAA Show static display.

The company noted that the Middle East has been a “strong

contributor” to its business this year, accounting for 10 percent of its total sales—a contribution higher than Jetcraft’s historical average. The company added that this performance will help keep it on track to improve on last year’s record results.

Long-term, Jetcraft’s most

recent market forecast predicts the Middle East will account for three percent of business aircraft deliveries over the next 10 years.

Worldwide, Jetcraft forecasts business aircraft deliveries will reach 7,879 units over the next decade, with 236 of those aircraft destined for the Middle East.

6 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

Jetcraft believes oil prices could provide a boost to the market, particularly in emerging regions. The forecast takes a conservative approach, assuming an oil price below $50 per barrel over the entire forecast period. “However, if the price of oil increases to at least $80 per barrel, the overall industry could experience a material increase in business aircraft orders from emerging markets again,” it said. —K.L.

DCAF GROWS MANAGED FLEET DC Aviation Al-Futtaim (DCAF) has expanded its managed fleet with the addition of a new Dassault Falcon 7X. The aircraft, which DCAF will operate on behalf of the private owner, joins two Bombardier Challenger 604s, a Gulfstream G200 and a Bombardier Global XRS in the DCAF fleet.

Under the contract, DCAF will provide full flight operational aircraft management services, continuous airworthiness management organization (CAMO) service, hangar parking and FBO handling at its facility at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai. In addition, DCAF will provide maintenance services for the Falcon 7X. “Our facility and services continue to attract interest from owners and operators seeking our expertise to manage their assets both commercially as well as under private operation,” said DCAF managing director Holger Ostheimer.

Based at Al Maktoum International Airport (Dubai World Central—DWC) in Dubai, DCAF is a joint venture between Al-Futtaim and Germany’s DC Aviation. The venture provides management, maintenance, FBO ground handling and charter services.

DCAF, which has a 5,700square-meter (61,355-squarefoot) hangar, earlier this year broke ground on an expansion that will include an additional 6,800-sq-m (73,194-sq-ft) hangar, which will bring its total land-side plot area to 24,000 sq m (258,334 sq ft) and the apron area to 13,000 sq m (140,000 sq ft).

—K.L.

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MEBAA expanding pan-regional role

by Peter Shaw-Smith While business aviation’s socalled emerging international markets may have disappointed the industry over the past year or so, the Middle East and North Africa region continues to be a glass half full, according to representatives of the bizav community who have gathered in Dubai for this week’s MEBAA show.

“The Middle East and North African market is developing well despite everything that is going on there in terms of [political] uprisings and destabilization,” said Ali Alnaqbi,

Executive, which is part of statebacked airline Qatar Airways.

“This is very bad, and we need to convince them [that the lack of competition] is the wrong way,” Alnaqbi stated. The association abandoned plans to hold a conference in the Qatar capital Doha in September.

He pointed out that the market is facing headwinds. “It’s difficult. The region is going through a lot of uncertainty. It’s not a matter of money or oil. It’s a matter of everything: security, stability, the uprisings going on. How

change rules and regulations in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain. We have a very strong regional presence.”

Alnaqbi, who took on a fulltime MEBAA role last year, after retiring from his position at the Presidential Flight, said the show was the sixth such event, and its 10th anniversary.

“It is very important to emphasize what has been achieved by the association in the last 10 years. The show is one achievement. Conferences, increasing market size and the number

Despite the region’s significant political and economic challenges, Ali Alnaqbi, founding chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), remains convinced the industry and his organization are moving in the right direction.

founding chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), speaking to AIN a few weeks before the show.

For now, the bulk of business aviation activity is concentrated in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which, respectively, currently account for around 35 percent and 26 percent of the Middle East business aircraft fleet, according to MEBAA. But Alnaqbi was quick to point out that growth is happening in other countries too, notably Morocco and Jordan.

Alnaqbi indicated that MEBAA still has plenty of work to do in opening up opportunity for further business aviation growth across the vast region.

For instance, the association is trying to persuade authorities in Qatar to end a policy of only allowing a single AOC holder in the country—namely Qatar

many wars do we have in the region? Yes, is it difficult, but I think it’s manageable.”

Strong Regional Presence

He said the inability to fly over countries like Syria and Yemen, capacity issues, and security at regional airports were creating difficulties, but that MEBAA had seen important successes, underlining the idea that adverse market conditions need not be a barrier to progress.

“I think, overall, MEBAA has scored some major achievements, despite everything that’s happening. As an association, we managed to reduce the gray market, we raised the profile of business aviation in several Arab countries and its role as part of their economies,” he said.

“Ministries of the economy in several countries speak highly of business aviation as a tool for prosperity. We have also managed to improve access and

of members are all milestones MEBAA has achieved in the last 10 years. We want to highlight all this at the show.”

MEBAA forecasts the value of Middle East business aviation sector at $1 billion in 2020, aircraft movements in the MENA region at 175,000, and business aircraft registered in the region at 1,200.

“We are always going to have a problem with statistics in MENA. I am trying to overcome that problem. The reason: confidentiality and privacy. We have that dilemma with everybody.

We are doing our best. Believe me, if I had statistics on the gray market, I would share them. The GCAA have no statistics here.

No one knows. It’s difficult. We are getting there,” he said.

MEBAA intends to launch a cluster of business aviation offices at DWC headquarters.

“Discussions are still ongoing.

We are hoping to move all the

8 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

business aviation players into the same area. A building or maybe even part of a building may be more than enough for our industry. We don’t yet have an opening date.”

Cleared To Grow

Asked to comment on the general state of business aviation in region, Alnaqbi said: “The future is bright. Despite what’s going on, all the unrest, if any region had been facing what the Middle East has faced in the last six years, that region would be in a hole. We sustained our growth. We moved aircraft from countries with issues to others that are stable. An aircraft is a moveable asset. In the market, there are many optimistic and pessimistic people.”

Recent growth has not been double-digit, as MEBAA might have earlier expected, he said.

“Last year it was about 8-9 percent. It’s a good number. I am very optimistic when it comes to business aviation. We have achieved many things. Members and nonmembers have benefitted from the existence of MEBAA.” He believes MEBAA has cleared the way for the market to grow. “We have talked to governments, the authorities, from Morocco to Oman.

We went to Lebanon, a difficult place to go. Tunisia is still difficult. Egypt is on our radar: we are always talking to them.”

Alnaqbi said it was important that Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport and GACA head has a business jet background, after running the NAS Holding Group and its bizjet subsidiary, NasJet. “Al Hamdan is very supportive. Before he became head of GACA, he was part of our industry,” he said.

“Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Morocco have changed their

business aviation rules. They are more accommodating to us. In Saudi, they have canceled Part 91 rules, which are no longer issued there. All the aircraft have to be ‘commercial.’ This is a direct result of MEBAA’s campaign: as a result, the gray market in the kingdom has been significantly reduced. Passengers are now aware of the gray market.

“We decided to replicate steps taken by the European associations, by [addressing] the dangers of the gray market among the passenger community, not only among operators, brokers, airports and authorities, but also talking to people who pay the money at the end of the day.

Passengers are aware of, and alert to, the problems that ensue if they choose the gray market.

“In addition, last year, the authorities said that the market in Abu Dhabi is ‘gray marketfree.’ The Department of Transport started campaigning against it, and they have had some success. Things are moving in the right direction. We have a long way to go. We haven’t achieved all our objectives yet. One of them is the situation in MENA. We will continue promoting the interests of our members and the business aviation community.

Alnaqbi continues to stress MEBAA’s links to the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), and its status as IBAC’s sole regional representative, as a key source of its legitimacy. He serves as the organization’s treasurer, and regularly attends its meetings.

“We want to be recognized as a leading player that contributes significantly to the economy.

And we are. We complement all the other players. You need to get this message out very clearly.

It’s the message from IBAC and all its member associations.” o An exclusive YouTube video accompanying the interview with Ali Alnaqbi is available at ainonline.com/MiddleEastBizav.

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Royal Jet focusing on diversification

by Peter Shaw-Smith New Royal Jet CEO Rob DiCastri will seek to diversify company revenue streams and leverage existing business lines without resorting to large additional capital expenditures. The Abu Dhabi-based VIP-charter operator now operates 13 aircraft, including eight BBJs, thus maintaining its position as having the world’s largest fleet of the type.

DiCastri said that growth in competition has made certain segments of the bizjet market more difficult in the current downturn, but added he was optimistic about the company’s performance in 2016. “[To date] 2016 is far better than 2015, and even better than 2014, to be honest. The trend is heading in the right direction. My focus will be safety, service excellence and leveraging the capabilities we already have,” he said.

After officially taking up his position on September 29, DiCastri’s first task was to oversee delivery of a new Boeing Business Jet in October, and a second BBJ was scheduled to join the fleet just before the MEBAA show.

The arrival of the seventh and eighth aircraft brings overall fleet size to 13, with two Global 5000s, a Gulfstream G300 and two Learjet 60s making up the balance of the roster.

MRO, management, medevac and charter are all areas where DiCastri is hoping to find

Royal Jet’s new CEO Rob DiCastri would like to do more in-house maintenance work.

opportunities. He said, “The days of just buying aircraft and hoping you can generate the business [are over]. We see management and MRO as different ways to generate income with little or no capital expenditure.

That’s going to be our focus. We do a lot of our own MRO, but we could do more.”

Royal Jet, which is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi Aviation and the Presidential Flight Authority (PFA), the royal flight service, has a stand here at the MEBAA show in conjunction with Boeing (A9, A10), replicating the shared display model used by the two companies at Abu Dhabi Air Expo 2014. It will be showcasing one of the two new BBJs on the static display.

DiCastri said that VIP charter currently accounts for 60

to 65 percent of revenues, with medevac at around 15 percent, a slice of the pie that had shrunk slightly given successes elsewhere.

The company has expanded some areas of its business, last year signing a new training contract with the UAE military, for example. “Some other revenue streams have increased the diversification of the company,” he said.

Close to Record

“The three months [to the end of October] saw an almost record summer for Royal Jet,” said DiCastri. “It’s very positive, with charter demand strong. Pricing is a challenge. The yields you used to get are difficult today.

It’s all about utilization. If you get the number of hours you need, you are fine, even with lower yields.” To cover operating

costs, utilization is his top priority. “The magic number is 60 hours a month [per aircraft].

Seventy or even 80 to 100 hours a month is [ideal],” he said.

“Royal Jet is lucky in the sense that it does have a committed and loyal customer base. The market is tough, with more competitors every day, it seems. In the smaller-aircraft market there is a lot of competition. At the BBJ level, there isn’t that much. It’s a niche we want to dominate.”

Although the company has a regional focus, its outlook is global. “We have a diverse range of customers, with a good deal of business in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. We have a fairly large customer base in Saudi Arabia, which is a huge market. We are also in Kuwait and do ‘emptyleg’ flights into Europe. Demand is pretty spread, with 30 to 40 percent of the customer base not captured, but loyal. We do have to keep them happy.”

With 25 years of aviation and hospitality experience under his belt, DiCastri, an accountant by profession, spent 10 years in Saudi Arabia, where he played a key role in establishing National Air Services (flynas) and NetJets Middle East, now NasJet, as CFO and head of strategy.

“When I was back at NAS [in Saudi Arabia], in the mid-2000s, there were not nearly as many competitors. Demand, options and customer [levels] have [all] grown. We do from 8,000 to 10,000 hours a year, mostly on the BBJ. You can see how much demand there is.”

Customers now have several

charter options, which are diluting the market, he said. Royal Jet is lucky to be in the VIP niche, providing a service that is differentiated from the rest of market, said DiCastri. New entrants like JetSmarter and other fractional players mean that entry-level competition is getting “a bit crazy.”

Turning to the UAE’s GCAA, DiCastri said: “Our relationship with the GCAA is very strong. We are audited on a regular basis, and it is as good as any other audit procedure.

They care very much about the safety and quality of operators here. They respect that we have always taken safety as a Number One priority. “[GCAA] is very strict with regulations, and shut operations down if they are not properly licensed, or do not have proper systems in place.”

He said a region-wide crackdown on the gray charter market is under way, although in the UAE it is not as public as in Saudi Arabia, where the General Authority for Civil Aviation recently banned Part 91 operations. “These two organizations really drive the region when it comes to private aviation,” he said.

DiCastri cited Boeing data to say that there are 700 private or VIP-configured business jets in the region. “There are almost 200 in the UAE now, including those on order. I remember [in the past], the UAE was far behind Saudi Arabia on market size. Now the Saudi market is only 20 percent bigger than the UAE’s.”

Royal Jet is content to leverage the niche it has. “People know us well. They trust us,” he said. o

Al Bateen Exec Airport is a ‘jewel in the crown’ Al Bateen Executive Airport announced 9 percent year-onyear growth in passenger traffic for 2015, surpassing its performance in 2014, according to official data. Arriving traffic totaled approximately 7,600 passengers in each of the final four months of 2015, with November witnessing the highest traffic, at almost 9,500, thanks to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Formula One race).

Boasting two business aviation terminals, the airport saw just over 2,700 movements and a total of more than 43,000 passengers in 2015. It has ramp space for up to 90 private jets. Sheikh Zayed Terminal accounted for 80 percent of arriving passenger traffic, with

the remainder passing through the former DhabiJet VIP Terminal, which has been rebranded under the name Munawala Ground Services.

“The steady influx of passengers at Al Bateen is testament to its world-class services, topquality facilities and strategic location as the region’s only airport tailor-made for the business aviation industry,” Eng. Ahmad Al Haddabi, chief operations officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said earlier this year.

“Al Bateen Airport is a fantastic airport. It is the only dedicated business airport in the Middle East. It is the jewel in the crown for Abu Dhabi.

It houses the Royal Terminal and the Munawala FBO,” said

As the sole dedicated business aviation airport in the region, Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport hosted February’s Air Expo.

Dr. Mark Pierotti, COO of Al Bateen-based Al Jaber Aviation, adding, “The commitment Abu Dhabi has to Al Bateen is enormous. There is still a little military activity, but Al Bateen is a dedicated executive

10 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

airport with two FBOs, a larger presidential one and a smaller VIP facility. This is why we have not gone to DWC [Dubai World Central]. We are committed to Al Bateen.”

Al Bateen hosted the Abu

Dhabi Air Expo in F ­ ebruary, a business aviation event that also became noteworthy for the severe storms that battered aircraft and stands, leading to early closures on multiple days and minor damage to some aircraft. —P.S.S.

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NasJet reacting to rules meant to stem ‘gray’ ops

by Peter Shaw-Smith As well as banning ‘Part 91’ private aircraft operations in Saudi Arabia, the country’s General

Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) has also issued a directive that all aircraft registered

elsewhere be put on a Saudi AOC, in an apparent move to combat the gray charter market, according to NasJet CEO, Ghassan Hamdan.

“GACA has issued new regulations which require all aircraft owners based in Saudi Arabia, regardless of the aircraft state of registry, to be added on to a commercial or private AOC. Those

who do not comply will suffer the consequences of having their annual landing permit in Saudi Arabia [withdrawn],” he said.

Hamdan expects this to lead to new aircraft moving on to the company’s management books. “We are noticing an upward trend of individual aircraft owners adding their aircraft under our NasJet management

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19.11.16 10:17

NasJet CEO Ghassan Hamdan expects new government requirements to provide incentive for additional business jet operators to sign on to his company’s management services.

program, with three new additions this year. We are expecting four more over the course of next year,” he said.

The new GACA regulations stipulate that aircraft owners in Saudi Arabia should have submitted a comprehensive plan by September 1, 2016, stating their decision to operate their aircraft on either a private or a commercial AOC, NasJet said in a press release issued August 22.

Low oil prices and falling foreign exchange reserves leading to unprecedented sovereign bond issuance have impacted business and corporate aviation in the kingdom. “We are noticing a slight downward trend in business and corporate aviation in the Middle East region due to the current state of the economy,” Hamdan said.

“However, the aircraft under the NasJet management program continue to increase and build in numbers and variety. NasJet is also the first to offer the aviation community in Saudi Arabia our AOC solutions which allow owners to add their aircraft onto a GACA Part 125 (Private AOC) or GACA Part 121SU (Commercial AOC) to meet the new GACA regulations that have come into effect this year.”

NasJet remains the largest private aviation operator and management company in the kingdom. “The primary driver for aircraft owners adding their aircraft under our management program is the AOC solutions and the ability to reduce costs by offering charter solutions. Furthermore, NasJet can offer various backup solutions from our existing fleet of aircraft under management which is an added benefit for our aircraft owners,” he said.

NasJet says it offers its clients exclusive discounts on fuel, handling, and insurance, which could help reduce owners’ costs by up to 25 percent. It currently operates a variety of aircraft types including a Boeing Business Jet, Airbus Corporate Jets, Gulfstream GVs, G450s, GIV-SPs, G300s, Legacy 600s, Falcon 900Bs, Hawker 750s and Citation Excels. o

ArincDirect adds sand, dust forecast

Despite their clean, modern look, ExecuJet’s existing facilities are only temporary.

by Matt Thurber Rockwell Collins (Stand 421) is demonstrating the addition of regional sand and dust storm forecast information into its ArincDirect flight-planning system. The forecasts are aimed at operators flying in southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

ArincDirect is obtaining the sand and dust storm information through an exclusive licensing agreement with the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre, which hosts the World Meteorological Organization’s Regional Specialized Meteorological Center. The center specializes in atmospheric sand and dust forecasts with its Barcelona Dust Forecast Center for the Europe and Middle East region.

“Over the past 15 years, a number of factors have resulted in an increase in the frequency, intensity and operational impact of sand and dust storms in the Middle East and surrounding areas,” said ArincDirect senior director Bob Richard. “Integrating high-resolution forecast

information into our flight and international trip support services will provide safety and performance benefits for business aviation operators in the region.”

Here at MEBAA, Rockwell Collins is also showcasing its ArincDirect FOS scheduling and dispatch software, which has undergone extensive improvements. FOS Version 3.0, the mobile version for iOS devices, added new push notifications for alerts and changes; smart search for finding trip and leg details; support for users who want to run FOS on multiple devices; submission of electronic flight logs for elimination of paper logs; full integration with all ArincDirect services; and the ability to submit trips from iOS devices to Rockwell Collins international trip support services.

Rockwell Collins experts are at the company’s MEBAA stand to provide information on many other products. These include the new Jet Connex high-speed

satcom Internet service running on Inmarsat’s Ka-band satellite network, for which Rockwell Collins is a service provider. Jet Connex allows video streaming and other bandwidth-intensive connectivity services.

In partnership with True North Avionics, Rockwell Collins is offering its Airborne Data Router, which works with any service provider but also connects to ArincDirect for calls and texting, media content, international trip planning and weather services. For onboard media streaming, Rockwell Collins has released with Stage Content Service and is demonstrating it at the MEBAA show.

The need for operators to upgrade to meet upcoming ADS-B out mandates remains urgent, and Rockwell Collins offers solutions for all legacy aircraft equipped with its Pro Line II, Pro Line 4 and Pro Line 21 avionics suits.

The mandate comes due in the U.S. at the end of 2019 and in Europe in 2020. o

PHOTOS: DAVID McINTOSH

Check the tires, wipe the windows: Amid dusty conditions, cleaning and polishing this Gulfstream G280 and the other aircraft on display at MEBAA 2016 is almost a full-time job.

EXECUJET SETS ITSELF APART

DAVID McINTOSH

ExecuJet Middle East has been a key business aviation pioneer at Dubai’s new Al Maktoum International Airport at the Dubai World Central site.

Back in June, the group started providing handling services at a temporary FBO. The company, which opted not to be part of the airport’s new VIP Terminal, will eventually open its own permanent building but its current accommodation is certainly attractive and very well equipped.

The interim FBO boasts four passenger lounges, a crew room, two transit lounges, a prayer room, transit area and cigar lounge, as well as washrooms and showers. There is dedicated aircraft parking space immediately outside. ExecuJet’s regional FBO manager Dumani Ndebele (top) runs the facility with a team of 25 customer service and ramp staff. —C.A.

Boeing, Fokker supersize the BBJ view

by Kerry Lynch Boeing Business Jets has partnered with GKN Aerospace’s Fokker unit to develop, produce, offer and support the SkyView Panoramic window for a range BBJ models, including the BBJ Max. The window, which will be the largest

available for a passenger jet, will be offered on the BBJ, BBJ 2 and all three members of the BBJ Max family. In addition, Fokker is offering the window as a retrofit on existing BBJs. The window is scheduled to enter service on the BBJ Max beginning in 2018.

“We are thrilled to formally confirm our partnership with GKN Aerospace’s Fokker business for the development of this fantastic feature on the BBJ,” said Boeing Business Jets president David Longridge. Larger than three existing 737 windows

14 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

together, the SkyView Panoramic window measures 4.5 feet by 1.5 feet. It is placed aft of the wing, but can vary in location depending on the aircraft type.

The size provides an “unparalleled perspective of the world,” Boeing said. Fokker announced the SkyView window during the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in May 2015, detailing plans for a demisting, acrylic window that

incorporated the GKN’s Crystal Vue II coating.

“We are proud to announce the next step for the SkyView Panoramic window together with Boeing Business Jets,” said Fokker Services president Peter Somers. “The innovative technology applied in the largest window in the market, enhances passenger comfort and is now also available for BBJ Max airplanes.” o

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Visit the Mekong region with Indochina Aviation how to fly in the Mekong region, because they will likely become future customers.

As the only ground handling service provider in the Mekong region, Indochina Aviation often works with other handling companies to serve their customers.

Business aviation activity has grown in the region, especially in Myanmar where there are 33 airports available for business aviation travelers. Some of these are seasonally busy, and five airports in the country are typically used by customers on a frequent basis.

On December 1, Indochina Aviation added full-time ground handling personnel in Mandalay.

Other growth areas in the region include Kawthaung and Savannahkhet (in Laos) and Haiphong (in Vietnam), where investments in tourism are growing. “Many secondary and smaller airports are becoming more popular,” he said, especially in areas where manufacturers are looking for land to build factories away from expensive metropolitan areas. This is especially true in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Business aviation operators traveling to the Mekong region come primarily from Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia. Runways at the region’s airports are in relatively good condition, he said, but many facilities are basic, and not all airports are open for night operations. Many lack ground-support equipment, which must be sourced from local airlines, but when doing this, Indochina Aviation takes full responsibility for use of the equipment, according to Mosebach.

Customs and immigration services are available at the larger airports, but at some smaller airports, Indochina Aviation can arrange to transport customs and immigration officials to the airport to clear arriving aircraft.

Indochina Aviation is often in the position of educating officials about business aviation, for example, the need to make frequent changes to a flight plan.

“Typically, they’re very supportive of business aviation,” he said.

Mosebach is well aware that his company’s 100 employees must deliver outstanding service. “We want long-term relations,” he said. “We’re in the hospitality business, and we want return business.” o

GLOBAL CHOICES, AVAILABLE FOR LOCAL VIEWING The list of Bombardier aircraft on display at MEBAA 2016 includes this U.S.-registered Global 6000, parked adjacent to the company’s other offerings, which include a Learjet Model 70 and another Global, a Global 5000.

Flying Colours chooses Satcom Direct for Globals

by Samantha Cartaino Flying Colours (Stand 460) recently completed two Satcom Direct Router (SDR) installations on Bombardier aircraft.

The first installation was part of a Global 5000 cabin refurbishment project while the second was part of a new Global 5000 completion for an undisclosed Middle Eastern owner. Officials announced that the aircraft will return to the MRO’s Peterborough, Ontario, Canada facility in early 2017 to install the supplemental SD Wi-Fi hub.

SDR enables text and voice calling on passengers’ smart phones while in the air. It also optimizes bandwidth for internet connectivity. While Flying

Colours has been an SD products reseller for three years, the company estimates that more SDR installations will come online as more large-cabin and long-range aircraft move through its facility.

“The SDR is a very clever piece of technology that enhances cabin communications, information provision and entertainment options,” said Flying Colours’ executive v-p Eric Gillespie. “With its ability to adapt to existing and new harness wiring, it is a product that we are advising clients to install to future proof their connectivity needs. The addition of the SD Wi-Fi hub is an

intelligent way of maximizing the full range of SD services, ensuring powerful bandwidth and consistent connectivity through the cabin.”

Here at MEBAA, Flying Colours will be promoting its technology solutions, which highlight the company’s ability to offer completions and retrofits on a variety of aircraft models. The MRO announced its collaboration with Inairvation just last year, making it the North American installation facility for pre-engineered retrofit solutions while incorporating the CMS/IFE from Lufthansa Technik with new side-ledges manufactured by F/LIST. With facilities in Canada, the U.S. and Singapore, Flying Colours offers green completions, interior refurbishment and modifications, heavy maintenance, exterior paint, special-mission modifications and installations. o

DAVID McINTOSH

First-time MEBAA exhibitor Indochina Aviation Centre (Stand 936) is here to introduce potential customers to travel opportunities in the Mekong region and to meet with current partners and clients. “We want to tell people that the region is open,” said Indochina Aviation director and founder Christian Mosebach. “People might not think about traveling to the region, and we want to make them feel more confident.”

Indochina Aviation Centre was founded in 2012 to provide ground handling and trip planning services in Myanmar and Cambodia, initially for airlines. A year later, the company added business aviation, government and military customers in the entire Mekong region, which includes Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. Indochina Aviation’s services include ground handling, permits, catering, hotel arrangements and fuel access as well as arrangements through a sister company for tailor-made trips and tours.

From the beginning, Mosebach made sure that Indochina Aviation put in place its own personnel in each country, people with local backgrounds, but who have lived and been educated abroad. The company does all of its own training to ensure a consistent level of service and is an approved training organization for Myanmar and an IATA examination center.

Roughly 60 percent of Indochina Aviation’s ground handling and permit arrangements come from business aviation customers, according to Mosebach. The company was hired to make all the ground handling arrangements for U.S. President Obama’s visit to Laos in September.

All Indochina Aviation operations are managed by a central control office in Bangkok, which is open 24/7 and briefs local teams based at airports throughout the Mekong region.

Company operations-planning specialists are also responsible for customer invoicing, including incorporating third-party billing from other suppliers, and this ensures that accurate invoices are sent to customers, he explained.

Indochina Aviation welcomes questions from clients or any operators needing to understand

DAVID McINTOSH

by Matt Thurber

SOMETIMES YOU FEEL LIKE A JET; SOMETIMES YOU DON’T Textron Aviation’s Beechcraft King Air 350i is the latest evolution of the market-leading business turboprop.

Seating up to 11 passengers and featuring a 312-knot maximum cruise true airspeed, the King Air 350i is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60A engines of 1,050 shp each and cruises as high as FL350.

16 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

The elegant VIP terminal at Dubai World Central Airport—also known as “Dubai South”— represents the commitment to business aviation by the Dubai Aviation City Corporation, which runs the airport.

Bizav is firming up its plans for moving to Dubai South

by Peter Shaw-Smith The Government of Dubai is to sponsor an initial $3 billion airports finance deal designed to enable the emirate to meet its scheduled passenger traffic target of 146 million per year by 2025.

Announcing the package last month, the official Dubai Media Office confirmed the new Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC-aka “Dubai South”) was set to be Dubai’s primary airport, and home to Emirates Airline, starting in 2025.

Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation, the entity that runs DWC, is understood to have been calling for further finance for the airport’s expansion after overseeing the launch of major cargo and business-aviation operations, with its centerpiece being the new VIP Terminal. Al Zaffin aims to push on with the detailed design and buildout of the Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) that will eventually house the operations of Emirates Airline.

Outside the key building blocks of cargo and logistics, business aviation has become a focus for DWC given the extended timeline before scheduled services take off at Dubai’s newest airport in just under a decade. DWC already claims to be rated 20th in the world for cargo throughput.

“Under the proposed financing arrangement, coordinated by ­Department of Finance for the Government of Dubai, Investment Corporation of Dubai and Dubai Aviation City Corporation, the three parties will work jointly to raise financing from various liquidity sources, both conventional and Islamic. HSBC is acting as financial advisor,” it said.

Dubai International Airport (DXB) was the world’s largest international ­airport in 2015, with 78 million passengers, after seeing a 13 percent CAGR since 2000. In September 2014, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced that $32 billion would be spent on the MTB and airport expansion.

“Dubai remains firmly ­ committed to the development of the Al M ­ aktoum International Airport [DWC] and to the growth of the global aviation ­sector, and this initial $3 billion transaction to support Dubai’s ambitious 2025 passenger capacity targets is testament to our belief,” said chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who also is chairman of Emirates.

Despite the race for early adoption at the new airport in business aviation, cargo, logistics, real estate, warehousing and other sectors, scheduled aviation at DWC remains slow, with a handful of departures a day. Construction of Emirates’ DWC Flight Academy appears to be nearing completion.

Expansion at DWC’s main scheduled Passenger Terminal Building (PTB), to raise capacity from 7 to 26 million annual passengers, is now well under way. This concentrated the minds of the FBO community as Jet Aviation and ExecuJet were asked to move out of temporary FBOs at the PTB in the spring.

Construction on the site of World Expo 2020, which will take place at a site on the north-east perimeter of DWC, remains a key catalyst driving the plans of business-jet operators in the emirate.

Until bizjet movements in Dubai as a whole exceed 20,000 (currently at around 10,000), only five FBO operators are expected to operate at DWC: DC Aviation Al Futtaim, Jet Aviation, ExecuJet, Jetex Flight Support and Falcon Aviation.

Original plans for the VIP Terminal to include four operators now appear unlikely to bear fruit, as ExecuJet now has standalone plans (including a standalone “interim” facility), and Jet Aviation is understood to be taking the same position, despite Sheikh Ahmed’s original stipulation for a shared facility. Currently, only Jetex and Falcon are operating at the VIP Terminal. UKbased Xjet has apparently put any DWC FBO plans on hold.

DC Aviation Al Futtaim is to build second hangar, set for completion in the third quarter of 2017. Next door, Falcon Aviation, having shelved plans for a completions center, hopes to finish work on its first hangar by mid-2018.

MEBAA’s Views

MEBAA chairman Ali Alnaqbi said the VIP Terminal was already active at DWC, also referred to as Dubai South.

“MEBAA’s views have been clear for a long time. Business aviation likes to have confidentiality and privacy. That’s always been the case as far as operating private and business aviation is concerned,” he said.

“Dubai South [officials] have their own plans. We have to respect their wishes. They still have plans to operate more than one FBO at that terminal.

Obviously there are two now and there may be room for one or two more.”

He said things were going in the right direction. “MEBAA is very supportive of Dubai South, and they are working with us. There is a plan, but plans could always change because this is a huge airport. The plans for real estate are amazing. The plans continue to change, but we have operators and they continue to come.”

DXB will not continue to operate business aviation, according to Sheikh Ahmed, although from time to time it will receive business aircraft on an ad hoc basis. “Jet Aviation and ExecuJet will continue to do maintenance there. There is no plan to take them away for maintenance. But as a

18 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

terminal or base for business aviation, that won’t continue. There are no slots, except on an ad hoc basis,” he said.

Alnaqbi said only five FBOs would be allowed for the time being. “There is an agreement that they will not allow more than five operators before 20,000 flights are achieved at the airport. The total number of business aviation flights at DXB and DWC is headed to 10,000.

They will not issue licenses to other operators until the number of flights exceeds 20,000 a year. That is what Dubai South are saying,” he said.

Mike Berry, vice president Middle East at ExecuJet Aviation Group, agreed. “That is the understanding that is out there. It makes sense. Otherwise you kill the market for companies who have invested in FBO operations. You can however have as many AOC operators as you want.”

“I am sure that in 2020 the number will increase. The Expo 2020 site is under construction now. Maybe we’ll be in a position one year from now to shed some light on how many flights there will be. We don’t know who will be booking space and who will be coming with their own aircraft. In the entire Middle East and North Africa, the expectation is that the number of flights will increase to 165170,000 by 2020,” said Alnaqbi.

DWC Prospects

ExecuJet’s Berry said DWC’s stock was rising. “The aircraft based out of Dubai, and visiting aircraft, are getting used to using DWC. Clearly, where before everybody had reasons not to want to use it, now they realize that slots are easier and landing, parking and everything is cheaper than at DXB. It is understood that with the infrastructure that’s in place, it doesn’t take that long to get here.

It’s being utilized more.”

Berry all along insisted that ExecuJet would maintain its standalone concept at Dubai South, and now operates an interim FBO, to be replaced by a longterm solution by 2018.

“Together with Jet Aviation, we’ve been the pioneers of general aviation in Dubai. We’ve been operating for over 15 years now. We took the opportunity many years ago to approach the authorities to start talking about what we wanted. We signed our first document with the predecessor to Dubai South in 2009. We

wanted to replicate what we have at DXB, which is standalone,” he said.

“Ours is a comprehensive solution.

While they have a great central terminal at DWC for an FBO, we want our comprehensive solution alongside our MRO, similar to other regions around the world, where we have FBO and MRO solutions cohabitating. It’s taken a long time, but we have been working very hard at getting those approvals.

That’s why we’ve been going to market saying: ’We’re getting approvals; it’s coming.’ It was a long process.”

Holger Ostheimer, general manager at DC Aviation Al Futtaim, said Dubai South had progressed in the six months since EBACE 2016 (held in Geneva in May).

“What we have seen in the past six months is a relocation of activity from DXB to DWC. It is something that we have been waiting ever since we started operations. When we had the initial discussions with DWC, it was indicated that

by October 2013, the majority of private and business aviation would have relocated. That obviously did not happen as scheduled, but it is happening right now and it provides us with an increasing number of opportunities,” he said.

“We respect everyone competing in the market here and contributing to the completion of the VIP Terminal. While the VIP Terminal is a large area, we believe that we can make a difference by providing privacy and discretion that only really this facility can offer. We seek to appeal to a consistent amount of clients that we try to increase over time.”

Paras Dhamecha, executive­ ­di­rector, Empire Aviation Group, believes the new airport, and its VIP facilities, compare favorably with any other new facility around the world.

“DWC is on an excellent site. The facilities will certainly help the overall experience that we are able to provide to our management customers,” he said.

“The idea of DWC is very strong.

Most operators have moved to DWC and we have all but two aircraft based there already. All the feedback has been positive and this speaks volumes for the idea and vision of a VIP Terminal. There was some negative feedback from the temporary FBO facilities, which was inconvenient. DWC will be even better when the lounges of Jetex Flight Support and Falcon Aviation actually open up there.” o

© 2016 UAS International Trip Support, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

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UAE lead regulator supports bizav; mandates a high standard of quality

by Peter Shaw-Smith The UAE’s top aviation regulatory official has told AIN the strategy of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on business aviation is to smooth the wheels of activity and to attract the right kind of companies.

GCAA director general, Saif Al Suwaidi, speaking exclusively to AIN, said, “We facilitate [this kind of] business. We aim to attract [it] to the UAE. I think we have provided a very good environment. The industry still has some challenges; we know about them. Some of these are outside our mandate.”

Although it appears that scheduled carriers are the organization’s priority, he said GCAA has “enough resources” to carry out tasks related to business aviation as well.

With regard to the state of the industry, he said: “I know that this business is subject to the economic situation in the region. I think this will pass, and business aviation will resume its position again. However, the good will stay and the bad will leave. This is what we are ­looking for.”

The GCAA has achieved high scores in recent ICAO safety audits. In 2015, it attained 98.86 percent in ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program, the highest tally ever achieved under this scheme.

“ICAO recently acknowledged the UAE and 13 other states when the Council president awarded them certificates of recognition at our 39th Assembly for their recent and exemplary USOAP performance,” Anthony Philbin, chief communications officer for ICAO, told AIN. In terms of the GCAA’s efforts to harmonize with EASA’s business aviation framework, MEBAA chairman Ali Alnaqbi agrees that no other CAA is doing more in this respect.

“I think it’s true…we are very lucky to have such an understanding group of people working at the UAE’s CAA, led by HE Saif Al Suwaidi. His directions to his staff to support business and private aviation are highly appreciated by MEBAA and by the International Business Aviation Council [IBAC].

I think they are working very closely with us, listening to us,

Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of the UAE GCAA, said the authority recognizes the value of business aviation.

and are alive to our demands,” he told AIN. Aircraft operators are also happy with the GCAA’s role.

“The A6 registration, which is governed by the UAE’s GCAA, is a fantastic registration. The Civil Aviation Regulations [CAR] are amongst the best in the world,” commented Dr. Mark Pierotti, COO of Abu Dhabi-based Al Jaber Aviation.

“We are very lucky to be governed by such a progressive, understanding and supportive civil aviation authority. The GCAA is supportive, and the Department of Transport (DOT) is supportive too,” he said.

Gray Market

The DOT has stopped the gray charter market, where foreignregistered aircraft competed with UAE-registered aircraft in for charter flights in Abu Dhabi, he said. “Over the last two years, the DOT Air Transport Section has worked closely with the operators, and we have managed to stop gray market operations in Abu Dhabi.

They have done a great job. Dubai hasn’t done this yet.”

DC Aviation Al Futtaim’s Holger Ostheimer also commended the authority. “So far, we observe that the capacity of the GCAA is stretched. But you will see hardly any other EASA or non-EASA organization, you will see no other country, striving so intensely to try to comply with the EASA regulations,” he said.

“By 2017, the GCAA will probably be the aviation authority with the highest level of compliance with the core EASA regulations [outside the EU area] anywhere. If you look at it from an EASA members’ perspective primarily, where each member of the EASA community wants to have relief for their national interpretations of regulations, the GCAA is slightly out of that picture. The GCAA can only harmonize, but its clear aim is to implement the EASA regulations in full.”

He said that for DCAF, as a business jet operator, the aircraft affected under the GCAA Flight Operations regulations are the commercially registered ones, those registered as A6.

That requires special consideration for the demands and constraints of such operators.

“Those discussions with the GCAA are ongoing and do require very special consideration, as opposed to those regulations that are on the table and that are predominantly focusing on the operational life of a scheduled aircraft operation, which does diverge from that of a business-jet operator,” he said.

“Looking into the maintenance side, the application of regulations is very strict. However, the GCAA is undertaking a great effort to support its licence holders, both on the AOC as well as maintenance side, so as not leave them standing out in the rain.”

Empire Aviation Group CEO Paras Dhamecha said that with 100 business jets in the UAE today, including private, family and presidential, the GCAA has its work cut out to handle the volume.

“The GCAA is a very highly respected and well-run organisation. They have to be wellrun for a jurisdiction the size of the UAE, for the amount of aviation, as general and private [aviation] and the airlines have grown.

The authorities have done very well to keep up with two aircraft a month at Emirates, and an aircraft a month at Etihad, and then create a space for business aviation to grow,” he said.

“They maintain a certain standard of quality and if you cannot maintain that then they

20 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

make difficulties for you. I guess the easiest thing to do when that happens is to say that the regulators are overregulating. They are not. They are trying to keep this place safe. The airspace is so small, that to have the number of aircraft that they manage in the airspace is in itself a task.”

Due to activity by the UAE military, only 49 percent of UAE airspace is available to civil operations. Mikael Lees, CEO of Finland’s Hendell Aviation, on secondment to GI Aviation as a technical consultant to obtain its AOC, said the GCAA had been very supportive from the start of GI Aviation’s plans to obtain a UAE AOC, expected this year, to launch single-engine charter operations using Pilatus PC-12NGs. “They have been very interested, and at no point have they said that it’s not possible. They have always been

Ismaeil Al Blooshi, GCAA assistant director general for aviation safety affairs has not seen a decline in bizav activity.

‘open-minded.’ They pretty much follow EASA regulations, although there are some differences in that. The transition from EASA to here has been straightforward.”

EASA Compliance

Ismaeil Al Blooshi, the GCAA’s assistant director general for aviation safety affairs, said the objective of GCAA’s EASA compliance program was to be ready in early 2018. “It’s a major task. We have done most of the groundwork, studying where we are compared to EASA.” He said that the regional market is strong. “There are people saying that there is a decline.

We did not see a decline. We see things moving. We have deliveries all the time; new aircraft are coming. Some aircraft already in

the region are registering in the UAE. We have seen [Saudi aircraft moving to base themselves in the UAE]. We have seen that, [due to the ease GCC nationals enjoy in establishing companies in the UAE].”

Compliance with ICAO standards is the GCAA’s priority, he continued. “We are happy with the maturity of the business aviation industry in the UAE. The companies that are here have established themselves. They have a [very good] understanding of their business.

That makes us more comfortable,” he said.

“On the other hand, we have also learned. We did not have the same understanding of the business 15 years ago. We have matured with it. We have a better understanding of their needs, and I think that we are able to accommodate [them] wherever we can. We always have problems, new challenges, mainly because each case is not the same. It is not like ‘mass-production’ airlines; with business aviation, each case is different, and you have to have a clear state of mind to handle it.

“Whenever we could accommodate their needs, especially on the maintenance side, we changed our requirements. May­be at one stage we lacked the resources to deal with business aviation, but not today. We have sufficient pilots and engineers, both in number and in competence, to cover operations,” he said.

“There is an inherent risk in aviation, we all know that. No one can claim we live in a zerorisk environment. Risk is always there. Our job is to identify it and bring it to a controllable and acceptable level.

“When it comes to business aviation, I think the knowledge that people have acquired today of their operations and of the type of risk that they face, given the nature of the operators, means maybe the risk is much less than other industry segments.”

Fleet age is also a factor.

“Most of the fleet we have is young. We don’t have aircraft that are 20 years old, with high hours. Most of the fleet we have is relatively young. This gives you much comfort.” o

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mainland. I think the market is growing. We notice a lot of delivery flights going to Asia.

There’s huge growth in China, and in Japan as well. With the rise of HNWIs [high net-worth individuals] in China, we also see growth in ownership.”

Africa is also on the upswing.

“We have seen fast development [there] recently. We have placed 13 station managers on the continent already, and our goal is to place a country manager in every country,” Husary said.

India is a focus as well. “We are providing the UAS standard of quality [there]. That means top-notch service; attention to detail and no surprises. We have station managers in New Delhi and Mumbai to care for the finer details of our clients’ missions.”

New Flight Planning Tool

UAS: conflict, oil prices stem region’s bizav ops

United Aviation Services launched its Evolution flight planning software (above) at the recent NBAA trade show in the U.S. In an interview, executive v-p Jay Anmar Husary (left) cites regional conflicts and a global dip in oil prices for the slow growth of business aviation demand in the Gulf region.

by Peter Shaw-Smith Wars in Syria, Yemen, and other Middle East trouble-spots, coupled with low oil prices, have acted as a brake on progress for business aviation in the region, according to trip support specialist UAS International Trip Support (UAS, Stand 563). But the company is now a true global player in flight operations support, with a network of specialists supporting customers worldwide.

Its international profile was further expanded with last month’s news that Chinese business aviation services group Deer Jet—a division of airline group HNA— is to acquire a major stake in a transaction that is due to be completed in December.

UAS executive vice president Jay Ammar Husary told AIN that regional business aviation

has yet to achieve its full potential, but the bright spot provided by Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates has meant a backdrop of longer-term op­portunity. In particular, he sees grounds for optimism based on the launch of Al Maktoum International Airport’s VIP Terminal here at Dubai World Central (DWC)/Dubai South. “[Middle East business aviation] was headed towards fulfilling 100 percent of its potential.

The problem is, you can’t isolate what’s happening in Syria, Yemen and other countries from this issue, because it has affected the whole region. When conflict in part of the region is combined with a drop in oil prices, these factors unite to slow any progress. I think it is going to get

UAS has expanded its global influence with financial ties to China’s Deer Jet. UAS CEO Omar Hosari, left, and Deer Jet chairman and CEO Zhang Peng, center, shared last month’s announcement with Mohammed Husary, UAS executive president.

there, but it will take time,” he said. “That doesn’t mean there is no hope—I think the progress is there, but it has just been slowed down by factors such as unrest in the wider Middle East and record-low oil prices.”

Husary likens Dubai’s “pioneering vision” to that of UAS. “It thinks and does things big; it’s ambitious and innovative. It doesn’t regress—it progresses.”

Game Changer

DWC’s aviation district, and the VIP Terminal in particular, are leading the way, he believes. “It’s going to be a game-changer in terms of security and accessibility. People are longing to be able to operate there.”

Several regional regulatory changes, as the UAE’s civil aviation authority moves to harmonize with the EASA framework, add to no-fly-zone problems.

“This has made charter more expensive. Going from point A to point B now takes longer, consuming more fuel, especially if you are going towards Europe from this region.”

22 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

UAS announced a tie-up with DC Aviation Al Futtaim (DCAF) at the EBACE show in Geneva this past May. “We partnered with them for a very simple reason: to enhance the UAS client experience,” explained Husary.

“DCAF is the only integrated hangar and VVIP lounge facility in the VIP terminal [area], providing the highest levels of comfort and privacy to UAS’s clients.”

That FBO’s unique location within DWC’s aviation district means minimal distance from drop-off to aircraft steps.

DCAF provides aircraft management, maintenance, FBO, and ground handling services as well as business jet charter, giving UAS clients access to hangarage, technical support and DWC handling facilities.

“The benefits are extensive personalized service, improved response times and more competitive rates at the airport. It makes a big difference, I promise you. It’s not only the distance: the facility is isolated, and that means privacy as well.

And that is very important to our clients,” he said In the run-up to EBACE, UAS announced several partnerships with Asia Pacific-based FBOs, where the company has seen great demand. “We provide value for them through the volume we deliver to them. Now we are servicing the entire Chinese

UAS launch its new FlightEvolution flight planning tool at last month’s NBAA show in the U.S. “It is a technology that we feel is at least three-to-five years ahead of anything else available on the market,” claimed Husary.

The software is built with a mobile-first approach and can also operate as a web-based system. This improves speed, functionality and efficiency, according to UAS. “It’s going to make a huge difference to pilots flying in the cockpit, with regard to accessibility, speed, and quick decision-making, and in terms of visual effect as well,” said Husary.

The system features a mapping engine that can render high-definition graphics without delay. “Its highly-intuitive interface makes for easy navigation. This tool literally puts a three-dimensional view of the mission in the palm of the user’s hand,” Husary said.

UAS surveyed pilots, dispatchers and schedulers in the predevelopment phase, and then tested it with professional pilots. “We started from scratch in terms of the design and made it mobile-friendly,” explained Husary. “This is a major distinguisher from other systems that are already available—you can only do so many modifications on existing systems, and often trying to convert them from webbased to mobile can compromise functionality. We have reinvented the wheel to accommodate the changes but this technology will see us through to the future.”

The interface is simple and user-friendly. “You will be able to do all the things you want to do as a pilot, dispatcher or scheduler. It is going to be an evolution from everything the market has seen to date.” o

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With local growth stagnant, Empire looks past Mid East

by Peter Shaw-Smith changed to predominantly larger, intercontinental, ultra-long-range jets. We’ve only got one Hawker 900 left in the fleet.

We’ve got a couple of super mid-size aircraft in Challenger 300s. And then it’s really Legacy or bigger,” he said.

Utilization Up

“The number of hours has gone up because all our owners have got bigger aircraft and fly a lot longer hours. People tend to fly longer trips, because they have bigger, longer-range aircraft.”

In dollar terms, the value of its assets under management is higher than two years ago, said Dhamecha. “Aircraft size and types have grown over the years, with more large jets [now] on the fleet,” he said.

He also threw some light on the opaque private-jet market in Oman.

“Three of the five business jets based in Muscat, Oman, are managed by us. The other two, we understand, are privately managed by the owners’ teams,” he said.

What of further growth? “The new flavor today is the G650. We have a number of clients who are discussing moving to bigger aircraft. In terms of growing beyond the current fleet, I think in today’s conditions, it’s going to be slow.

Quite honestly, this is a worldwide challenge right now. We see a lot of aircraft trading in the U.S. market, but prices are [very] low. When we look at business-jet valuations, we never expected them to reach these levels.”

He said a 2010 Global XRS model today would fetch somewhere in the region of the low $20 millions. Such airplanes were bought new for anything between $46-$52 million. The same applies to the Falcon 7X, he added; Empire has a 2011 model for sale, which is likely to sell in the mid-$20 millions.

“We know the customer paid about $52 million new. The values have depressed tremendously,” he said.

“Even at those values, it’s difficult to close sales. The industry looked at Russia in hope, but [it] has also slowed

IBAC LOOKS TO GROW IS-BAO AND IS-BAH ROLL CALL On the eve of this week’s MEBAA show, the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) held the latest in its worldwide series of workshops of its International Standards for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) and International Standards for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH). The workshops, held here in Dubai on Saturday, were followed by auditing sessions on Sunday that allowed companies to complete the approval process.

There are now more than 700 IS-BAO operators around the world. This list includes 13 operators in Saudi Arabia, 11 in the United Arab Emirates, 2 in Bahrain and 1 in Jordan.

As of late November, 29 FBOs and handling providers were approved to IS-BAH standards. The only Middle East facilities on that list were Gama Aviation’s Sharjah FBO and the Jetex operation in Dubai.

“Our objective is to reach 50 FBOs certified by the end of the year and we ­envisage doubling that number during 2017,” said IBAC’s IS-BAH program director Terry Yeomans.

—C.A.

24 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

EAG

A slower regional growth scenario had made this year a good time to continue geographical expansion, said Empire Aviation Group (EAG) executive director Paras Dhamecha, speaking with AIN a few weeks before MEBAA 2016.

The overall market has struggled of late, he said: “The regional business has been tough, but fortunately the UAE is better off than some of the other countries in the region. The price of oil has affected a lot of businesses here and the general economy is connected to this industry in some shape or form. There is no real growth in private aviation, and this reflects slower growth in the business sector [generally].”

EAG’s business has remained relatively stable, however. “What has worked well for us is that we looked at certain [opportunities] outside the Middle East market in a timely manner, and this geographical expansion and diversification has helped.”

Despite the gradual migration of business aviation to Dubai World Central (DWC) Airport, Dhamecha said Empire still operates two aircraft from Dubai International (DXB). “Quite noticeably, there is a slot issue, but having said that, I believe DXB—which is a very busy airport—handles this much better than trying to get into Hong Kong, where obtaining slots is almost impossible. [At DXB] we’ve never had to cancel a flight because of a slot.”

Empire’s UAE-based managed fleet is at 20-plus aircraft, a decrease from two years ago. An additional Gulfstream G650 was scheduled to join before the opening of MEBAA. The roster already included three G650s, two XRSs, a Gulfstream G450 and three Falcon 7Xs. Eight of the aircraft in the managed fleet are available for charter.

“In [this] market, stability means you are in good shape. The fleet mix is very interesting. From around 2009 to 2012, we were a predominantly mid-size to super mid-size [aircraft] operator. That has now

Paras Dhamecha, executive director, Empire Aviation Group has his eyes beyond the horizon.

down. China and Asia are not absorbing as many aircraft as people thought they would, either. That leaves the largest markets of the U.S. and Europe. And with the type of deals, and the aircraft choices that are out there, it takes a long time to move aircraft [specifically in the Gulf region] that are not already there in their back yard,” he said.

“Today, there are OEMs that have more customer demand than others. If we had this discussion about a year ago, then I would say the higher end was holding its prices—the Globals, the Falcon 7Xs—all these markets were relatively strong. Today, you are seeing a freefall in their values. It’s a challenge when today you can buy a Global for $20 million, which no one could have predicted. It’s very confusing. I don’t think even a BBJ would hold its value.”

Indian Owners

EAG was acquired by India’s Air Works India Eng. Pvt. Ltd. in 2012 to help replicate its management model on the subcontinent. Outside the GCC, India is a major hub for Empire, and Dhamecha said it is ready for a management-type operation. Empire is involved in four aircraft there.

“We are some way towards the end of our AOC [Aircraft Operator Certificate] process [referred to in India as a NonScheduled Operator Certificate], which we are hoping will be awarded by the end of [this year]. We are hoping that will [give us] more opportunities,” he said.

“The focus there is much more on monetizing the asset rather than just keeping it private. While we are involved in a few private aircraft, we do operational support and management. Apart from that, an AOC was lacking. If that changes, we’ll see a lot more activity.”

He doesn’t perceive India as a “difficult” jurisdiction. “People don’t really understand the geography of India. It takes four hours to fly from south to north. You can have customers all over the country. I don’t think it makes any sense for someone to say you are going to keep your aircraft in Florida just because the weather is nice; when you live in New York!”

He said the India market is four times the size of that in the UAE, with about 400 business aircraft in the country, ranging from Beechcraft King Airs to Global XRSs, as well as several helicopters.

“It’s a very good market because, first, you have a lot of airplanes that are managed in an unstructured manner— but mostly in-house—and, secondly, the infrastructure of the country is such that there are only so many Tier 1 airports,” he said.

Mumbai and New Delhi are the biggest centers for business aviation, but Dhamecha said Bangalore made for a good base of operations because the cost of living is marginally cheaper.

“There’s [good] activity outside of the airports that people know; there are still [several] Tier 2, Tier 3 cities that have fully operating airports.

There is a good deal of industry in the country, so people need to fly to many of the smaller airports where the airlines cannot go, anyway. They have a Part 91-style private operator’s permit, and of course the AOC, equivalent to Part 135.”

Hong Kong, Africa

Empire is also studying a joint venture operation in Hong Kong. “We are the aviation partner in the joint venture, which is with a corporate group. We manage two aircraft for them,” he said.

“We are looking at this to widen our Asian hub. The idea has been to create centers of excellence east of Europe reaching out towards Asia, in places that don’t necessarily have good aviation travel connections. The idea is to do something jointly and leverage our superior contacts and experience in the Middle East.”

Dhamecha said Empire is “down to” five aircraft in Nigeria, including management of a Falcon 900, due to the pressures on the economy there. A further aircraft left the fleet in mid-October.

Empire’s U.S. office remains engaged, and was hoping to see more activity after the U.S. elections.

The UAE was granted Empire its first AOC in 2007. India is to be the next one. It is approved for private aircraft operation in the Isle of Man and the Cayman Islands; adding a San Marino AOC in 2015 has given Empire the flexibility to base aircraft all over the world, he said.

“They are happy to have aircraft outside their jurisdiction. San Marino doesn’t even have an airport, apart from small private aircraft. I can have a San Marino aircraft based in Hong Kong.

Most of the other [onshore] AOCs need the aircraft within their borders. San Marino is a very highly rated and regulated AOC. It’s a misconception that it is a flag of convenience. The standards we have to maintain are very high.” o

Gulfstream developing supersonic technologies

by Chad Trautvetter Gulfstream Aerospace continues to pursue technologies that would enable development of a supersonic business jet (SSBJ), logging two new U.S. patents for such technologies in the past several months alone. Asked about these latest patent awards, a company spokeswoman told AIN, “Gulfstream has a small team committed to researching sonic-boom mitigation. We also continue to work to remove the ban on flying supersonically over land.”

The Savannah, Georgia-based aircraft manufacturer’s most prominent research in this field is its Quiet Spike, a telescoping nose meant to greatly reduce or even eliminate the sonic boom. It has previously tested the Quiet Spike on a NASA F-15 and has even built an acoustic simulator to demonstrate the spike’s effectiveness, which it dubs the “Gulfstream Whisper.”

The company, however, has noted that the engine inlet is also a major factor in reducing sonic boom noise. Thus, a patent issued on November 1 to Gulfstream (Stand A13, A14) is for an “isentropic compression inlet for supersonic aircraft [which shapes] the compression surface of the inlet to defocus the resulting shocklets away from the cowl lip.” This improves inlet drag characteristics and interference drag characteristics, according to the patent.

The company has also developed a way to use fuel loading to mitigate the sonic boom. In a patent issued on September 20, Gulfstream engineers outline a computerized fuel redistribution “to adjust an amount of fuel stored within a wing to minimize a twist in the wing caused by the deviation.” Such redistribution will reduce the magnitude of the sonic boom caused by the deviation, the patent notes.

While the Concorde also employed fuel load shifting, it did so for moving the center of gravity in the supersonic realm and was a highly manual process,

using a series of toggle switches controlled by an on-board flight engineer.

The Gulfstream application is different—not just because it will be used to twist the wings to minimize the sonic boom, but also because it is employing a computerized system with processors and sensors to automatically and instantly adjust fuel loads. It is primarily this computing and sensor technology that is the underlying basis of the patent.

in this issue published a study last year that concluded that an SSBJ now makes economic sense.

“We’ve done the study in two ways— on the air transportation side with the airlines, and with the corporate aviation side,” said InterFlight Global CEO Oscar Garcia. “On the airline side, the price premium cannot exceed 30 percent.

On the corporate side, the price premium can reach up to 70 percent. The corporate and special-mission government side is much less price sensitive.”

He also thinks that the time is ripe for the U.S. Congress to revisit the national ban on supersonic flight over land.

“Congress is looking at this issue again,

maybe more than ever before. It is starting to look at the fact that we need speed, we need the ability for rapid reaction,” Garcia noted.

“It’s mostly for the military, but it is permeating into the civilian realm,” he added. “With good research results from Gulfstream and NASA, if that sonic boom gets reduced to a certain level, I wouldn’t be surprised if the ban is lifted.”

That could happen as early as 2020, Garcia believes.

He envisions an SSBJ as a first step in developing regular suborbital transportation, perhaps as early as 2035. “Propulsion remains the main challenge,” Garcia concluded. o

SSBJ Clues

The patents also give some clues to what a Gulfstream supersonic business jet might look like, should the company actually decide to go ahead with such an ambitious project. According to information and drawings included in these patents, the design would likely employ a swing wing, like that used for the F-111 (built by Gulfstream parent company General Dynamics in the 1960s), and be powered by two engines.

Configuration drawings also show a T-tail and the telescoping Quiet Spike, in addition to isentropic compression engine inlets and the fuel-load shifting system. In addition, the patents suggest a top speed of Mach 1.9 for a would-be Gulfstream SSBJ. Gulfstream has flirted on and off with the idea of an SSBJ since 1989, though it appears to have become more serious about such an aircraft in 2008, when it tapped Robert Cowart as director of supersonic technology development, a position that was newly created at the time. Cowart still heads this research at the aircraft manufacturer.

And as Gulfstream and rival Bombardier Aerospace approach subsonic large-cabin business jets with ranges nearing 8,000 nm—enough to fly halfway around the globe nonstop—speed appears to be the next frontier. In fact, an aviation consultancy specializing

With design elements from proven, existing aircraft and a little bit of science fiction, Gulfstream Aerospace’s recent application to patent supersonic business jet technologies demonstrates the company remains involved in efforts to develop an SSBJ.

26 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

FINANCE GROUP SEES A MORE PRAGMATIC MIDDLE EAST RECOVERY Demand for business aircraft in the Middle East is picking up, according to finance specialist Global Jet Capital. The U.S.based group sees rising interest in leasing, as private aviation consumers adopt an increasingly pragmatic approach to meeting their transportation needs.

“There is no question that we saw the [Middle East] market get impacted by a sharp drop in oil prices over the past couple of years, but in recent months we have seen life in it again,” Simon Davies, Global Jet Capital’s sales director for Canada, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India, told AIN. “Inquiries have picked up a lot in the last few months. A lot of it involves replacing existing aircraft, with buyers going for slightly larger aircraft.”

Global Jet Capital (Stand 674) isn’t seeing much evidence of new aircraft owners entering the market in this part of the world. “A lot of people have been sitting out the paradigm shift for [falling] aircraft residual values after 2009,” Davies said.

“People who bought in 2007 and 2008 have hoped for a rebound, but now they see the market as having reached a new norm. So we’re seeing people return to historic buying patterns now that they’ve adjusted to the new market conditions.”

The two-year-old group, which earlier this year acquired GE Capital’s corporate aircraft lease and loan portfolio, says other finance providers have been backing

away from the business aviation market. “It’s increasingly rare to find leasing available,” said Robert Gates, managing director and head of sales for EMEA and APAC. “We’re the only meaningful supplier of that to the whole world.”

According to Gates there is now more interest in the company’s operating leases.

“It’s a more sophisticated form of financing.

It is healthy for both consumers and manufacturing because there needs to be something other than just chartering, paying cash or getting a bank loan.”

Generally, the Global Jet Capital team has seen a more pragmatic approach to how customers secure access to private aviation. “In this [Middle East] region there has certainly been a change in attitude,” said Davies. “It used to be seen as the market of a poor man to have to borrow money. But many younger people here have been educated in Europe or the U.S. have more of an understanding of leveraging assets and freeing up capital for other businesses.”

“I’m rather bullish on the Middle East for next year,” he concluded. “It’s not as booming as it was in the mid 2000s, but there is significantly more confidence now that oil prices are stabilizing.”

Global Jet Capital is backed by a trio of investment firms including GSDO Capital Partners, The Carlyle Group, and AE Industrial Partners. It currently has $2.5 billion in assets under management.

—C.A.

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This VIP-configured Airbus A340 is part of Sky Prime’s high-end Saudi charter fleet.

Sky Prime expects 2017 to be a “watershed” year.

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Saudis okay Sky Prime charters

by Peter Shaw-Smith Sky Prime Aviation Services, which has one of its VIP Airbus A340s on display here at MEBAA, was awarded a Part 121 license in August to operate high-end charter in Saudi Arabia, at a ceremony in Riyadh attended by Minister of Transport, Sulaiman Al Hamdan.

Al Hamdan, who is also acting head of the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA), was quoted in news reports as saying 2017 would see a watershed in Saudi aviation. “[Next year] will be a historic turning point in the Kingdom’s air transport industry as a number of

airlines such as Sky Prime, Nesma and, later on, Flyadeal, will enter the domestic air operation competition. Any increase in the number of air operators will help increase the supply of seats in domestic flights,” he said.

Saudia Private Aviation will provide ground handling for the new airline at Riyadh, Jeddah and Medina, as well as other airports in the kingdom. “Millions of travelers fly around the world, but few of them share the privilege of having their most exclusive expectations fulfilled,” said Sky Prime’s CEO Salem Abaid Al-Muzaini.

The fact that a license has been granted to Sky Prime indicates the extent to which air travel is regarded as the preserve of high-net-worth individuals in the kingdom. Sky Prime said its services included “charter flights; in-house maintenance and technical support; in-house ground support and consultancy services; aviation project management; and airport management.”

Launched on December 29, 2015, Sky Prime’s fleet is understood to include seven aircraft: An Airbus A340200, A340-600, A320-200; a

Sheltair’s network covers eastern U.S.

by Curt Epstein U.S. aviation services provider Sheltair is on hand here at MEBAA to promote its network of FBOs located in the eastern part of the country. Exhibiting along with its fuel provider Avfuel and 121

Inflight Catering (Stand 455), visitors can speak with company representatives about the FBO chain’s crown jewel at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Sheltair has been the sole business

The Sheltair FBO network offers operators on the U.S. East Coast a wide range of services and options. Prime locations for the company include Fort Lauderdale, Florida (pictured), Savannah, Georgia, and New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

aviation services provider at JFK for the past four years.

“Within our network of 17 FBOs, Sheltair JFK frequently serves as the gateway for our international travelers,” said Karen Kroppel, the company’s director of sales and marketing.

“From there, they travel on to our other prime locations such as Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia.” Sheltair also has an FBO at Orlando Executive Airport, where this year’s NBAA static display was based in early November.

The JFK location offers an array of first class services and amenities, including 24-hour customs clearance on the ramp with no prior notification, support for diplomatic logistics and missions, on-site security screening and, recently added, planeside duty-free delivery.

28 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

Gulfstream G450 and G550; as well as an Embraer EMB550 and Legacy 500.

The A340-200 on static display here was also shown at Abu Dhabi Air Expo in February. One of Sky Prime’s A340s is VIP-configured for 77 passengers with two bedrooms and a lounge.

Riyadh-based Sky Prime (Stand 600, Chalet A16) was founded in 2015 as the business jet VIP management and charter arm of Alpha Star Aviation, which is understood to cater to Saudi royal family members.

Sky Prime’s Twitter account said that a particular focus for the company would be Islamic tourism, including Hajj and Umrah trips, when pilgrims visit the holy sites in Mecca and Medina. o At the stand, MEBAA show attendees can also get information about any of the company’s locations including Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, which is home to Gulfstream Aircraft’s manufacturing facility, a popular destination in its own right for travelers to and from the Middle East and Asia. Sheltair, one of two service providers there, is currently completing a new hangar project at its FBO to accommodate the bustling Gulfstream traffic.

“The Sheltair network is involved in numerous projects at the moment,” noted Kroppel. We’re excited to spread the word and find high value in connecting with customers face-to-face to convey our message. That’s what makes MEBAA so important for us, [it’s] an opportunity to educate operators about our 17 locations as one-stop-shops for fuel, FBO services, catering, flight following and more.” o

Vision Systems (Booth 327) is unveiling its new motorized shades and electronically dimmable windows (EDWs) at MEBAA 2016. The new shades are already prepared for the integration of the dimmable windows. The French company also offers a collection of privacy and partition solutions that it says work well in aircraft cabins.

The motorized shades are tailor-made and feature smooth or pleated fabrics.

They can be customized with single or dual screens as well as lightweight, acoustic insulation and a fine fit and finish. Shade synchronization is available, so all the shades or those in specific areas of the cabin can close at the same time. Brake, manual unlocking and anti-jamming devices enhance motorization while integrated electronics allow for easy installation and maintenance.

The EDWs are made from plastic, glass or composite glass and can be installed into flat or curved surfaces. Users can control the amount of shade they want by using the control panel on the window or via the attendant panel.

They can even set the controls automatically using light sensors or operate them with hand gestures.

According to Vision Systems, the window shades can contribute to reducing air conditioning, since they keep the interior cooler and switch to their darkest possible state when powered down. EDWs also act as noise barriers. Compared to other motorized shades, the EDWs reduce weight approximately 30 percent.

Vision Systems specializes in developing solar protection products. With production and sales offices in Florida and an office in Singapore, the company supplies products to the aviation, land transport and marine industries. Customers include Dassault, Epic, Airbus Helicopters, Ruag, HondaJet, Sabena Technics, ATR, SuperJet International, La Compagnie, Embraer and Boeing. —S.C.

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GI Aviation now seeking an AOC to launch single-engine charter ops

by Peter Shaw-Smith

record that is statistically equivalent to the entire fleet of U.S. business jets. Belidis said orders for additional aircraft would depend on the manufacturer.

“I expect a new order would take six to 10 months.”

Target utilization per year will initially be 200 to 300 hours per aircraft. “We are testing the market. That’s why we have decided not to go ahead and purchase a bigger fleet. We are starting conservatively,” he said. “It is a fully owned aircraft. The company is owned and funded by a private investment company in Abu Dhabi.”

Belidis said his personal approach would be important: “My aviation career evolved from aeronautical engineering into the commercial and management side. The combination of both technical skills and management experience is fundamental to [running] a small airline.”

MEBAA Support

Abu Dhabi-based GI Aviation, a newcomer to the UAE business aviation charter market, is expected to obtain an aircraft operators’s certificate (AOC) and begin operations using a single Pilatus PC-12NG before the end of the year. CEO Marios Belidis told AIN, “We plan to use the MEBAA show for a series of launches, including the announcement of our AOC. We anticipate we will start flying towards the end of the year.

“We believe it is the right time to begin operations; we are approaching the winter season and many prospective clients will be commuting. Destinations will cover major cities within the GCC, plus resort destinations like Sir Bani Yas, Delma and Fujairah [all in the UAE],” he said.

Belidis is confident enough about the company’s prospects to consider the idea of ordering more aircraft in the near future.

“It will depend on the market response to the product. If we see an increasing demand, we might consider ordering more aircraft.

However, our objective is to begin with two aircraft,” he noted.

Belidis added, “It’s a new aircraft type in the region, so obviously, the GCAA [General Civil Aviation Authority] are going to be more cautious.”

Potential clientele would include company executives or federal government entities, religious tourism, and affluent individuals and families traveling for leisure. The PC-12 can carry up to eight passengers, but the six-seat layout affords more

comfort. It can be converted to a medevac configuration within an hour.

“We envisage that sheikhs will continue to fly the Gulfstream G650 or Global Express. With the PC-12, we are appealing to a different type of client: [senior] government officials, board chairmen, business-focused CEOs, and affluent individuals,” Belidis explained.

“We have already had a good response to our plans. We have established contact with a local government department, at chairman level. It would make more sense for them to charter our aircraft than to fly business and first class.”

Federal or local authorities and government or private-sector companies are also target clientele. “We could fly clients from Al Bateen to Sharjah or Ras Al Khaimah at the weekend and it will save them precious time. We are confident this type of operation will work, and then we may need additional aircraft. There is a need to be wiser and spend less money,” he added.

“Due to the heavy traffic, we are less keen on Dubai International Airport [DXB]. Specific clients will be working at locations that are closer to Al Maktoum International [DWC].

They would definitely want to fly from there rather than drive to Al Bateen in Abu Dhabi. And at Abu Dhabi International, it is also difficult to obtain slots. Al Bateen Airport does not operate on a slot procedure and is therefore ideal for prospective clients departing from Abu Dhabi.”

The PC-12 began operations in 1994 and the NG was introduced in 2008. Its maximum stated range is 1,845 nm, and max cruise speed around 270 knots, so the aircraft can reach most of the Gulf and the Levant.

Far shorter takeoff and landing distances than a typical jet also make the aircraft more versatile.

Belidis said the Swiss manufacturer, Pilatus, hadn’t had much of a commercial presence in the Middle East before. “Their focus was mainly in Europe, the U.S. and Asia Pacific, with some 1,400 aircraft delivered. Over the years, they have demonstrated they have a very good product.

They have shown the aircraft is reliable and highly engineered.”

GI Aviation claims the PC-12 has earned a safety

Belidis welcomes MEBAA’s support. “We recently joined MEBAA, and are confident of its support for our new model.

Chairman Ali Alnaqbi has got it right in his advocacy of ‘rightsizing’ aircraft.”

Alnaqbi told AIN he is a champion of GI Aviation. “I am following this personally.

The complicating issue here is the single-engine for commercial use. This will be the first [such] certificate granted… in the region. It’s been seen in Europe and [the PC-12] is not unique as a type in the region. I think it will be very successful.

I have been calling for the rightsizing of aircraft, and this is an excellent step,” he said.

“I am sure that when they get the license, this business will

boom. A lot of executives today cannot afford to fly to a small destination paying big money for a Gulfstream. Business aviation is expanding because people can see it is a business tool. I think it’s a good idea and I am supporting it.”

Belidis is not daunted by the region’s business aviation slowdown. “The private aviation business in the region has flat-lined lately. Finding the money to fly on a private jet has become more difficult.

[Therefore] we believe GI Aviation is coming to the market at the right moment, offering affordable luxury. We will provide competitive charter rates, thus feeding the gap between business-class seats and private jets,” he said.

“The oil-price fall has affected cash flow [in other sectors]. People are going to remain careful about how they spend money— we still have a crisis in the Gulf.

The crazy money of 10 years ago is no longer around. There comes a point when [oil supply] grows too fast and the bubble bursts, and we see oil prices fall,” he added.

Belidis is bullish on GI Aviation’s future. “A year from now we will be here and we anticipate we will need more aircraft. We are starting out here in the UAE as an AOC PC-12 model, just as the U.S.’ Surf Air is about to do in Europe [when EASA finalizes new SET-IMC rules—expected

by January 2017].

“They are flying the same type of aircraft [on commuter routes]. They fill up every seat.

For $2,000 you can fly three times per month on an aircraft.

This won’t be our model, but the success they have enjoyed in the U.S. has prompted the expansion to Europe.” o

While large-cabin, ultra-long-range business jets get much of the attention, Abu-Dhabi’s GI Aviation believes there is a strong demand for shorter range trips using affordable single-engine turboprops, such as the Pilatus PC-12NG. Impending new rules in Europe could further stimulate single-engine ops as a business platform.

30 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

MEET US AT THE MEBAA SHOW

STAND 588

12- 16 N OVEMBER 2017 DWC, D UB A I A I R S H O W S IT E WW W.D UB A I AI R S H OW. AE R O

THE DESTINATION FOR AEROSPACE

as well as two ultra-long range business jets such as the Falcon 7X, Bombardier Global Express or Gulfstream G550.

by Peter Shaw-Smith

In May, Lufthansa Technik announced a cooperation agreement with DCAF. “The two companies plan to offer their VIP customers a first-class package of services at Al Maktoum International Airport [DWC].

An experienced, highly qualified team of engineers and mechanics will ensure cost efficiency and quality that are ‘made in Germany’,” said Lufthansa Technik.

That month also saw DCAF announce a ground handling agreement. “We have a number of flight support agents that we are cooperating with. One of these is United Aviation Services, with whom we have a very healthy exchange of services,” Ostheimer said.

DC Aviation Al Futtaim (DCAF, Stand 682) is the FBO, MRO and aircraft management company that set the tone for activities at Dubai World Central Airport (DWC/Dubai South) by entering the market three years before its rivals. It expects two new aircraft to join its managed fleet of four before the end of the year, according to what general manager Holger Ostheimer told AIN in an exclusive interview last month.

“We will have five aircraft [under management] in November, and expect to have six aircraft in December. We will be increasing our fleet with the

increases in activity on the aircraft management side, and added that, with the shift in its FBO business from DXB (Dubai International) to DWC, the new airport offered improved business opportunities.

“In the same timeframe, we have further improved hangar utilization by signing up new hangar clients. We have also managed to increase our MRO activity and, over the course of the year, we obtained CAR 145 approval in the UAE.” He said DCAF had concluded phase one of its MRO build-out strategy, a 5,700-square-meter (61,354-square-foot) hangar,

Lufthansa Co-op

UAE market, as an isolated case, provides for much greater hope than any other market on the international scene,” he said.

The European market, with strong expectations for Turkey dating from 2012, has not seen any recent growth, while over-regulation has stymied the Indian market, leading several local high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) to use the UAE as a base, he added. Commercial opportunities in China have not materialized either.

The U.S. remains the biggest market overall; but, he observed, despite promising trends in U.S. activity and unit sales, the only promising market at the moment is, in fact, the UAE. “The UAE is a very natural choice,” he said.

Flight Ops Concern

Flight-crew duty-time regulations are under study by the UAE’s GCAA. “At one point

Early to the table at Dubai World Central Airport, DC Aviation Al Futtaim makes good use of its hangar space, having signed on several new clients in recent months.

Dassault Falcon aircraft. The aircraft to join us in November will be a 7X,” he said.

In mid-2015, DCAF announced that the managed fleet included a Bombardier Challenger 604. “Discretion is right up there on the list for credible shareholders, only beaten by flight safety. In operations and MRO, aircraft safety is everything,” said Ostheimer.

“We have increased handling activity, fleet size, and our footprint as a whole—in infrastructure, competency and maintenance qualifications and certifications, as well as aircraft types covered. We are looking to the future with moderately positive expectations.”

He hailed a “moderate” increase in MRO, “significant”

and had plans for a second 7,500-sq-m (80,729-sq-ft) maintenance facility in which operations will begin in the third quarter of next year.

“We have put Hangar One into operation. The FBO is more and more busy. We have made the investment, especially through our shareholders’ resources, coming with the associated significant costs. We are interpreting the market by once again taking the courage to put another level of investment into the game, to build a second hangar to increase our presence, but overall to provide the preconditions for further diversification.”

The existing DCAF hangar can accommodate four Airbus ACJ320s or Boeing BBJ737s

Pure management had been a better business for DCAF than charter, he said. “We observe a trend of aircraft owners predominantly utilizing the aircraft themselves rather than making them available for charter. The aircraft charter market has come under pressure so that the returns provide for a lot less encouragement for wanting to make those capacities available to the thirdparty charter market.”

From a global perspective, regional markets are under considerable pressure, due to poor economies as well as political issues. “The UAE has proved to be a stable location and has continued to be interesting enough for those individuals able to operate aircraft and partially or fully residing in the UAE. The

32 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

sooner or later, the relevant flight-crew duty-time regulations will take effect. We just hope that the GCAA will remain in open dialog with the commercial business-jet operators to provide the special provisions needed to make the operation of a business jet under a UAE or A6 [UAE registration code] flag possible,” said Ostheimer.

He added, “What you see on the international scene is putting the responsibility more into the hands of the operators, with their own risk assessment, particularly towards flight duty-time regulations, with each operator having a very good look at what is being perceived at base and what isn’t, and then going to the regulatory authority

BILLYPIX

Early bird DCAF is set to increase its managed fleet

DCAF general manager Holger Ostheimer is expecting two new clients by year end.

for approval or otherwise. That is a very interesting trend.

“What finally will be formulated through the GCAA—the flight ops department—remains to be seen. We are curious and hopeful that those regulations will [take] special consideration for business jet operations.”

Estimating total movements in the Dubai market at around 10,00 to 12,000, he said that while these numbers were on an international scale, providing for moderate growth scenarios would continue to be difficult for the five FBO and operator license holders at Dubai South.

“Dubai [offers] an appealing, secure and safe lifestyle.

We are surrounded by a culture that provides opportunities for business. Our clientele is very much dependent on those business opportunities. These occur through the appeal of the UAE and Dubai in particular as a private or commercial residence,” he said.

“Since that business lives off HNWIs, the particular attraction of Dubai for those individuals will for a long time provide for more opportunities locally than other areas internationally.”

Ostheimer is alert to the competitive threat posed by new FBO entrants at the DWC VIP Terminal.

“Philosophically, we are not working against the competition. We are working for the client. We would like to be a logical choice, an attractive proposition so that the client can make a positive choice for us, while we truly respect and appreciate all the competition,” he said.

“What we do see in the global economics and general demographics of wealth is that more and more people are becoming high-net-worth or ultra-highnet-worth individuals. Demand for private and business aviation transport is not going to recede in Dubai. I can see enough opportunities arising that it’s going to keep us busy long enough that we will stay here for a long time.” o

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IJM MENA JOINT VENTURE CELEBRATES FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Airbus Corporate Jets managing director Benoit Defforge (left) and Robert Smith, president, Jet Aviation, are all smiles as JetAv joins the ACJ Service Centre Network.

Bahrain-based aircraft management and private-jet charter concern, IJM MENA, a joint venture of Austria’s International Jet Management and Bahrain’s MENA Aerospace, celebrated its first anniversary earlier this year.

IJM was founded in 2003 and has more than 100 employees at its Vienna base, 25 aircraft under management and additional offices in Central Europe, Hong Kong and Manila in the Far East. Its fleet consists of Bombardier Learjet/Challenger/Global Express aircraft, along with aircraft such as the Cessna Citation, Dassault Falcon and Gulfstream V. “IJM MENA successfully offers the aircraft management and charter expertise of IJM combined with the local infrastructure, contacts and knowledge of MENA to aircraft owners based within the GCC,” said Felix Feller, chairman of the IJM MENA board and founder and CEO of International Jet Management.

“We saw a lot of demand for our combined services from the beginning of our partnership onwards

JetAv’s Dubai MRO gains Airbus approval

and we are very happy that we could welcome new aircraft owners in the first year of the partnership.”

IJM MENA manages three aircraft at Bahrain international Airport, of which two, both registered commercially, are available for charter, a Legacy 600 and a Challenger 604. The company is based at the private-jet hangar complex of MENA Aerospace at the airport and holds an AOC issued by the Bahrain CAA. IJM MENA said it coordinates private-jet charter flights with AC Aviation Charter GmbH. “Within the first 12 months of our partnership we [welcomed] two new aircraft to our fleet and were able to significantly increase charter turnover,” said Bernhard Wipfler, general manager, IJM MENA. Established in 2004, MENA Aerospace Enterprises WLL is the holding company and administrative head for several local Bahraini companies operating, managing, chartering and maintaining aircraft, and has developed a private aviation complex at Bahrain’s Manama Airport.

—P.S.-S.

Astronics AeroSat’s T-200 product family provides a host of internet, telephony and DBS-TV capabilities.

by Matt Thurber International Airport at Dubai World Central.

Jet Aviation also delivers around-the-clock AOG services at airports in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. “We are very pleased to expand the service capabilities of our MRO network to ensure a seamless maintenance experience for ACJ owners and operators in the Middle East,” said Stefan Benz, v-p of Jet Aviation MRO and FBO operations, EMEA and Asia. “Jet Aviation has established an excellent working relationship with Airbus over the years, and we are honored to again be appointed a trusted member of its growing ACJ Service Centre Network.” o

Astronics AeroSat T-200 satcom gains FAA STC

by Matt Thurber Astronics subsidiary Astronics AeroSat (Stand 664) has received an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) for its new T-200 series satellite communications system. The entire system consists of the tail-mounted antenna as well as the low-power satcom transceiver, antenna control and

modem unit, power amplifier and diplexer.

The launch customer aircraft is a Gulfstream G-IVSP, on which the Astronics FlightStream T-210 system was installed. The system is approved for all G-IV-family jets. Astronics expects to add more aircraft with follow-on STCs beginning

DAVID McINTOSH

Jet Aviation and Airbus signed an agreement yesterday appointing Jet Aviation’s maintenance hub in Dubai as a member of the Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) Service Centre Network. The appointment allows Jet Aviation (Stand 628, Chalet A19/20) to offer line maintenance, retrofits, modifications and cabin and systems upgrades for ACJ owners and operators.

In May, Jet Aviation’s Basel, Switzerland, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hub joined the ACJ Service Centre Network.

Jet Aviation opened its Dubai MRO facility at Dubai International Airport in May 2005, and the facility offers 4,200 square meters (45,192 square feet) of hangar space, including a 1,000sq-m (10,760-sq-ft) workshop and a two-story FBO terminal with 1,050 sq m (11,300 sq ft).

With both FAA repair station and EASA maintenance approval, Jet Aviation’s Dubai MRO, which is a joint venture with Al Mulla Business Group, also holds approvals from regulatory authorities in UAE, Bahrain, Bermuda, Cayman, India, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan and authorized service center status for maintenance and warranty support for Boeing BBJ, Dassault Falcon 900, 2000 and 7X models and Gulfstream G150, G200, GIV, GV and G450 through G650 models.

The company also offers full service capability for the Hawker 800/900 series, Airbus ACJs and Embraer Legacy. Since 2012, Jet Aviation has provided VIP handling services at Al Maktoum

in the first quarter of 2017.

The Ku-band FlightStream satcom enables internet browsing, email, voice-over-IP telephone calling, VPN service and hundreds of channels of Direct Broadcast Service television, including “dual capability of switching between DBS-TV and broadband internet connectivity in a single antenna package,” according to Astronics.

The tail-mounted antenna facilitates airborne connectivity at high latitudes with low-angle satellite coverage, and it also provides full reception while the aircraft is maneuvering, even at high latitudes. The FlightStream satcom allows passengers to connect using mobile devices such as laptop computers, tablets and smartphones. o

DIAMOND AIRCRAFT’S NEWEST TWIN SHINES IN SILVER Amid all the Boeings and Airbuses, Austrian airframer Diamond Aircraft brought its newest piston twin, the seven-seat DA62, to MEBAA 2016.

Powered by two turbocharged AE 330 diesel engines of 180 hp each, the DA62 is a growth version of the company’s DA50 single. It comes in two versions: one with a 1,999-kg (4,407 lb) maximum weight for European operators seeking to minimize ATC fees and a U.S. version weighing 2,300 kg (5,071 lb).

34 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

Jordan’s IWG charter operators add airframes

DAVID McINTOSH

by James Wynbrandt

Configuring your 747-8’s cabin is easier and more realistic, thanks to Greenpoint’s scale model.

Greenpoint’s 747-8 model enables custom, hands-on interior design

by Kerry Lynch and testing. The system includes a customized stairway that leads to eight private sleeping berths and optional changing room located above the main deck between doors 4 and 5 of the 747-8. Aeroloft was designed to provide rest areas away from the main deck during flight. The company has sold five Aeroloft kits for the 747-8 to date.

Meanwhile the Aerolift, which is also patented now, is an elevator that permits access from the ground to the main deck of the 747-8. The Aerolift can carry up to four passengers or a wheelchair passenger with attendant.

Greenpoint delivered its first VIP-completed 747-8 to an undisclosed customer in late 2014. Eying the regional market, Greenpoint executive v-p Bret Neely noted, “MEBAA is an excellent venue to strengthen relationships. It’s an intimate setting where we can discuss challenges experienced by owners and offer realistic solutions.”

These discussions include an emphasis on Greenpoint’s ontime performance, Neely added, noting that its second VIP 787-8 is nearly complete and anticipated to deliver on schedule.

Greenpoint handed over its first 787-8 earlier this year. o

expected in Q1 2017. It was among the first UAE operators to obtain IS-BAO Stage II approval, as well as European Third Country Operator (TCO) approval. “Aviation safety and security has always been a priority” for the company, said managing director Khaldoun Ghalayini.

Iraq Gate, which provides domestic and international flights out of Iraq, added a third CRJ-200 to its fleet, and announced an expansion of its ground handling supervision service to third parties and international carriers. The Baghdad-based company also operates a pair of Hawker 800 XPs and a King Air. IWG is also the parent company of Royal Jordanian Air Academy and Queen Noor Technical College. o

TRIPLE TREAT Beginning with the classic Falcon 50 and continuing with this 7X, Dassault Aviation’s series of three-engine business jets always has offered a little extra peace of mind to operators flying overwater routes.

DAVID McINTOSH

Kirkland, Washington-based completions specialist Greenpoint Technologies (Stand 427) is bringing its one-twentiethscale VIP Boeing 747-8 model to MEBAA for the first time this week. The Middle East debut enables the company to provide a glimpse of Greenpoint’s interior design capabilities, including the company’s recently patented Aeroloft system and Aerolift elevator.

The company, a subsidiary of Zodiac Aerospace, received a patent for Aeroloft in June, an achievement reached following nearly 10 years of development, production installation

Arab Wings, Gulf Wings and Iraq Gate, the AOC subsidiaries of Amman, Jordan-based International Wings Group (Stand 691), announced here at MEBAA recent and upcoming additions to their charter fleets, among other news. Arab Wings, also based in Amman, recently added a second Embraer Legacy 650, which boasts a three-zone cabin, and a third Bombardier Challenger 604 to its roster. To accommodate its growth, Arab Wings recently moved to new offices, the company reported.

Gulf Wings, based here at Dubai’s Al-Maktoum Airport, recently added a late model Legacy 600 to its fleet, and the company expects to add a Global 5000 and Challenger 605 by Q2 of next year. Gulf Wings is currently pursuing Wyvern and IS-BAO Stage III certification,

Disappearing flat-screen televisions and full-featured in-flight entertainment systems are just two of the features passengers aboard Gulfstream’s latest offering can expect. With all that space available, what would you add?

DAVID McINTOSH

GULFSTREAM G650ER CABIN AMENITIES

www.ainonline.com • December 7, 2016 • MEBAA Convention News 35

Satcom Direct seals the deal on TrueNorth

by James Wynbrandt

Satcom Direct’s stand on the exhibit floor offers a full range of in-flight communications options and now includes TrueNorth’s products.

streaming on personal electronic devices.

Here at the show, attendees can see demonstrations of SD’s portfolio of solutions on touchscreen TVs. These include services such as cockpit data link FlightDeck Freedom; SD Flight Tracker, which shows precise locations of an aircraft fleet worldwide; and the television access portal OneView. App offerings on display include MYflight, providing real-time flight data to passengers; getORT+, for remote diagnostics of satcom systems; and FlightDeck 360, providing flight crews with communication services.

SD’s local representatives (the company has an office in Dubai) are on hand at MEBAA to show the offerings to attendees and explain how they can help meet an aircraft operators’ needs, and even sign them up for service. o

Satcom Direct and Lufthansa Technik Partnering on Airborne Video Streaming A new service providing streaming movie and television content is available from a partnership between Satcom Direct and Lufthansa Technik. Called “nicemedia,” the service is initially available on aircraft equipped with Lufthansa Technik nice HD cabin management systems (CMS), with content provided on portable memory devices that plug into the CMS. Here at MEBAA 2016, Satcom Direct is demonstrating the streaming media service at its stand (477). New content will be available on a monthly basis and is delivered on the memory device so internet connection is not required.

Nicemedia includes 50 movies and 30 television shows, and it is available in English, German and Spanish, with genres such as action, adventure, comedy, family and science fiction.

In mid-2017, customers will be able to purchase the nicemedia Smartbox, which is powered by Satcom Direct and allows viewing content either on cabin monitors or by streaming to mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones. Smartbox will work with all in-flight entertainment and cabin management systems.

According to Satcom Direct chief technology officer Ken Bantoft, “Partnering with Lufthansa Technik allows us to provide quality inflight entertainment to passengers through a convenient plug-and-play system.” —M.T.

36 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

DAVID McINTOSH

Continuing its expansion of services and offerings, onboard communications and connectivity provider Satcom Direct (SD, Stand 477) announced here at MEBAA the completion of its acquisition of TrueNorth Avionics, along with a new sales agreement with Inmarsat and a partnership with Lufthansa Technic.

SD’s platform, the Satcom Direct Router (SDR–manufactured by TrueNorth) and overlying operating system, Satcom Pro, provide the foundation for a variety of personalized onboard communication, entertainment and information offerings the company is showcasing here in Dubai. The current and new modules it’s developing enable customers to personalize services for their unique needs.

SD’s intended purchase of TrueNorth Avionics, the Canadian manufacturer of cabin communication systems, announced at the NBAA Convention in the U.S. last month, has now been consummated, the company said here at the show. This significantly expands SD’s ability to provide advanced communication systems for executive and head-of-state configured airliners, according to the company, and it is now determining how to take advantage of TrueNorth’s products and capabilities. “We’ll be looking at more synergies as time moves on, and how the businesses can be integrated together,” said Chris Moore, SD’s chief commercial officer.

Under its new agreement with Inmarsat, SD is now a Value Added Retailer (VAR) for Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) broadband satellite network for military, headof-state and government customers. GX, the world’s first globally available Ka-band mobile satellite network, provides very high bandwidth services, delivered through a secure waveform optimized for mobility.

SD is already a VAR for Jet Connex, the business aviation version of GX, which went live last month. SD also has VAR agreements with satellite system operators Iridium, ViaSat and Panasonic. “The closer we come to the [network] vendor, the more enhanced services we can provide our customers through the network,” said Moore.

The partnership with Lufthansa Technic (LHT, Stand 500), announced here, unites the companies in offering business jet operators a wide selection of DRMsecured and licensed movies and TV shows.

Initially available on aircraft equipped with LHT’s nice HD cabin systems via an easyto-use portable memory device, no internet connection is needed to view content, and new movies and TV shows will be added on a monthly basis. By mid-2017 the service will be available for all IFE/CMS platforms via LHT’s nicemedia Smartbox, powered by SD, and enable passengers to view content on cabin monitors, or via

Jet Aviation’s interior studio competes for design awards

by Matt Thurber The Jet Aviation Basel Design Studio has been named a finalist for the Society of British and International Design Awards 2016 in the visualization category, and has also been placed on the short list for the Design et al Yacht & Aviation Private Jet Design Concept Awards 2017.

Jet Aviation’s Basel Design Studio designers created concept interior designs for the Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A350-900 under its Limitless campaign. The concept designs were then turned into accurate 3-D visual representations, which customers can view in a virtual walk-through, in collaboration with ACA Advanced Computer Art, according to Jet Aviation (Stand 628, Chalet A19/20).

The 787-9 Limitless campaign made it to the final stage in the Society of British and International Design Awards 2016.

The 787 and A350 designs were both selected for shortlisting in the Design et al Yacht & Aviation Private Jet Design Concept Awards 2017. Winners will be announced in May 2017.

“The VVIP interior concepts for the A350-900 and 787-9 were designed to give potential clients a real feeling of the impressive space and design

possibilities of the new-generation composite aircraft,” said Elisabeth Harvey, director of design at Jet Aviation Basel Completions Center. “Aviation interior design is becoming ever more sophisticated, and we wanted to showcase this in our designs.”

The concept designs were originally inspired by a Middle Eastern client, according to Jet Aviation, and applied a contemporary take to classic styles, by reinterpreting traditional patterns in a modern style while maintaining compliance with aircraft standards.

“We are proud to be recognized in this way by industry peers and colleagues,” said Matt Woollaston, v-p of completions sales and marketing. “These designs reflect both the craftsmanship that goes into our completions and the commitment we give to new technology and constant improvement.

As a design studio within a completions center, the Jet Aviation Basel Design Studio is able to draw on accurate engineering and production data, giving us the confidence to create innovative, bespoke designs that clearly captured the attention of the awards committees.” o

Team members at Jet Aviation’s Design Studio are competing for two major awards recognizing the innovative VIP interior concepts they have developed for heavy business jets like the Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A350-900.

SEA Prime promoting bizav with a pair of Milan FBOs

by Peter Shaw-Smith SEA Prime, the business aviation services and FBO landlord at Milan Linate Airport, plans to open a second FBO at the city’s Malpensa Airport in Q4 of 2017. At Linate, the company has two new hangars under construction, with the first scheduled for completion before year-end and the second due to open next year. SEA Prime has also signed an agreement with Associazione MonteNapoleone for concierge and other services for business aviation operators using the Milan Linate.

Associazione MonteNapoleone acts as a clearing house for leading luxury brands, with 150 global affiliates.

“We have forged this partnership with SEA Prime (Stand 564) as they share with us the same strategy of customer approach,” said its president, Guglielmo Miani.

Milan Linate Prime claims to be the largest business and general aviation airport in Italy and fifth in Europe for aircraft movements, seeing more than 22,600 by general aviation flights in 2015.

“For our customers, Milano Linate Prime and, in future, Milano Malpensa Prime, are the gateways to the city of Milan…which offers unique and unforgettable experiences,” said Chiara Dorigotti, general manager of SEA Prime, which is owned by airport manager SEA SpA. SEA Prime manages the airport’s business aviation infrastructure, including the terminal, nine hangars, passenger and crew lounges and a BMW business center. Milan Linate Prime has a 67,000-square-meter (721,182-squarefoot) apron, hangar space totaling 19,000 sq m (204,514 sq ft) and a fuel farm. o

The first Boeing BBJ Max 7 to Singapore’s Orient Global

SHEIKH AHMED DECLARES MEBAA 2016 OPEN HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman and CEO of Emirates was on hand to declare the MEBAA 2016 event officially open yesterday morning.

He toured the show site, accompanied by senior UAE civil and business aviation officials, including Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive chairman, Dubai Aviation City Corporation, the entity that runs Dubai South, and Ali Alnaqbi, founding chairman of MEBAA. Sheikh Ahmed took in the exhibition floor and also inspected several aircraft on the ramp.

He spoke to officials from ExecuJet Aviation Group, Sky Prime Aviation, GDC Group and Nexus, among others, before going on board the Qatar Executive Gulfstream G650, Dassault Falcon 8X, an ACJ318 put on show by Airbus, the HondaJet, the Citation Latitude, Comlux’s Boeing 767-200, a Bombardier Challenger 650 and Sky Prime’s VIP Airbus A340-200. See photo page 1.

—P.S.-S.

DWC’s VIP terminal uContinued from page 1

security are all provided at the site, as well as helicopter transfers to major destinations in the UAE. The Jetex design team has tried to create the atmosphere of a luxury hotel for passengers as they move to and from their aircraft.

“This new Jetex terminal further strengthens our position within the general aviation business,” said Jetex president and CEO, Adel Mardini. “Our new DWC facility [was] the first FBO in Dubai to be awarded the International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling

(IS-BAH) certification earlier this year.”

The new site offers 24-hour customs clearance, dedicated executive passenger and crew lounges, aircraft handling and ramp amenities, and concierge and VIP transportation services. A 5,000-sq-m (53,820-sq-ft) hangar facility is under construction and is expected to be available for aircraft storage and MRO in 2017, the company said.

Jetex also has FBOs and handling teams in Paris and Marseille in France, Toluca in Mexico, Tokyo, and the Chilean capital Santiago. The company is the official FBO and aircraft handler for this week’s MEBAA 2016 show. o

by Kerry lynch

Boeing Business Jets president David Longridge, left, presents a desk model of a BBJ Max 7 to Orient Global director of operations Edan Oestreich.

The order pushes the tally for the BBJ Max family to 12, with 10 for the BBJ Max 8 and one for the BBJ Max 9. BBJ unveiled the Max 7 during last month’s NBAA show in Orlando, Florida, bringing to market the longest-range member of the Max family.

“The 7,000-mile range will connect key city pairings that were previously not possible in a BBJ, and increased cabin

and cargo space makes this an unbeatable business jet,” said David Longridge, president, Boeing Business Jets.

Powered by a new, more fuel-efficient LEAP-1B engines, the MAX 7 is longer than the original BBJ and offers more cargo volume, yet still delivers lower operating costs.

Longridge, who said BBJ has been waiting for the Max 7 for years, believes its availability will help provide a boost to sales that have slowed in the past year. He stressed the importance of range to the market, pointing to the success of Gulfstream with its ultralong-range G650ER. As Longridge detailed the first order and expressed optimism for the future, he also announced his plans to take another position within Boeing. On December 12, the 23-year Boeing veteran will assume the new post of vice-president of sales for commercial aviation service. His departure comes near his two-year anniversary as president of BBJ. But, Longridge actually played a role in sales in the early days of Boeing’s foray into the business jet market.

I am very, very sad to say this will be my last MEBAA,” he said. “I genuinely believe this is the most exciting part of aviation there is. I have had more fun doing this job and developing these products…that I probably will ever have in the rest of my career. It’s been a real privilege working with the BBJ team and the BBJ customers and the BBJ suppliers.”

A successor at BBJ has not yet been named. o

The interior design of the Jetex portion of DWC’s VIP terminal, above, represents an impressive combination of modern and classical motifs. The main lobby of the terminal, below, is also an elegant combination of form and function. The emirate has been working to migrate business aviation to DWC.

PHOTOS: CHARLES ALCOCK

KERRY LYNCH

A month after Boeing Business Jets unveiled its 7,000-nautical-mile (12,965-kilometer) BBJ Max 7, the company has announced the first order for the model. BBJ president David Longridge revealed the order—to Orient Global Aviation—Tuesday during the MEBAA show alongside Edan Ostreich, director of operations for the Singaporebased company, which currently flies a BBJ but will upgrade to the Max 7 once it becomes available.

www.ainonline.com • December 7, 2016 • MEBAA Convention News 37

Al Atheer taps Sabena technics for A310 refurb and upgrades

by James Wynbrandt Atheer, said, “The reduced downtime of the project is extremely important to meet with our specific operations,” adding, “Sabena technics offers us the right combination of maintenance and VIP cabin refurbishment skills.”

Secure Aircraft

Sabena technics is also debuting here in Dubai the new version of Vigiplane, the security system Sabena purchased a year ago. Installed on an aircraft’s landing gear when on the ground, Vigiplane monitors and records a 360-degree view around the aircraft.

Sabena engineers have made the new version 40 percent smaller, 40 percent lighter, and 50 times as powerful, now incorporating a full color, higher resolution camera, a new 250 GB digital video recorder, and cloud monitoring server. All events recorded by Vigiplane are now easily and quickly transmitted in real time to the operator via smartphone, tablet or laptop, using 4G LTE data technology. More than 70 Vigiplane units have been sold over the past year, according to Sabena. o

ITALY’S ARGOS LOOKS TO BUILD EUROPEAN FBO CHAIN Argos VIP is set to build a network of Euro- Pisa, Naples and Cagliari. It holds the Interpean FBOs with plans to expand beyond its national Business Aviation Council’s IS-BAH native Italy. The Rome-based group recently approval for handling standards. opened its first operation outside the counAccording to Ciolli, access for business try with a base in Lugano, Switzerland, and aviation at Italian airports has improved has its sights set on in recent years, with further expansion in the country largely France and possibly shedding its repuSpain. tation for restrictive According to comhandling practices. mercial director Bar“It is easier now at bara Ciolli, Argos the bigger airports, had targeted the and they are more UK for its expansion open to private aviproject, but put this ation,” she stated. decision on hold fol“Argos was the lowing the country’s first to break down June 23 vote to leave this wall but we are the European Union. still trying to break “We have looked at the monopolies in Nice [in the south of places like Florence.

If Argos VIP has its way, airports throughout Europe France], but that is We are a full partner will be giving its expansion plans a thumbs-up. very crowded and to operators at all so Cannes is now an option as traffic has destinations and know how to deal with increased there; and we’re still considering the Italian regulations.” other options,” she told AIN. Traffic volumes handled by Argos Here at the MEBAA show, Argos (Stand have continued to increase during 2016 328) is looking to connect with its estab- following a strong year in 2015. Ciolished customer base of Middle Eastern lli said the growth rates have almost operators, with the aim of consolidating been maintained this year, despite the the position it claims as Italy’s leading chain generally negative impact on European of FBOs. In addition to its main facility at business aviation of factors such as pasRome’s Ciampino Airport, the company senger concerns over the wave of terroralso has bases at Milan’s Malpensa and Lin- ist attacks that have hit France, Germany ate airports, as well as in Venice, Verona, and other countries.

—C.A.

38 MEBAA Convention News • December 7, 2016 • www.ainonline.com

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, and chairman and CEO of Emirates, toured the MEBAA exhibit floor on the show’s opening day.

DAVID McINTOSH

Sabena technics (Stand 623) announced here at MEBAA it has been selected by Saudi Arabia’s Al Atheer Aviation to refurbish an Airbus A310. The aircraft’s bedroom, bathroom, private office, and lounge will undergo extensive soft furnishing replacement, including seat and divan upholstery, with the contemporary design incorporating Arabian motifs. Additionally, the IFE system will be upgraded with an HD screen. The cabin work will take place at the same time as a heavy maintenance C-check, with the entire project slated for completion in three months.

“Thanks to our large range of capabilities, our customer will benefit from a complete turnkey program with a single interface for design, materials, systems, as well as associated EASA STC,” said Pascal Jallier, vice-president of VIP Programs for the Paris-based MRO. “We are confident that our highly skilled and experienced craftsmen will be able to meet this tight schedule and deliver a cabin to the highest business aviation standards.”

Captain Daif Alsolamy, CEO of Al

LONDON’S LARGE-CABIN OPERATIONS UP, SAYS HARRODS Harrods Aviation, which operates FBOs at London Luton Airport and London Stansted Airport in the UK, has seen 20 percent growth in large-cabin-jet movements in the last three years—evidence of solid recent performance in the high-end business aviation market, it said last month.

In the last year, Harrods Aviation (Stand 462) claimed to have handled more than 250 Boeing 747-type aircraft, including many visits from heads of state.

“Many of these large cabin aircraft are utilized by dignitaries, heads of state and royal families,” said managing director Paul Norton. The company classifies “large-cabin aircraft” as a Gulfstream G650 and anything larger, such as ACJs, BBJs, A340s, 747s or similar bizliners.

It sees “no likely decline” in this sector of the industry and said that requests were being discussed to meet the growing needs of its customers, including even the potential purchase of ground support equipment to support the Airbus A380.

—P.S.-S.

Piaggio steps up its focus on and commitment to Avanti Evo

by Charles Alcock Piaggio Aerospace (Stand 398), which has a strong connection with the UAE through its parent company Mubadala Aerospace, is reaffirming its commitment to the business aviation market here at MEBAA 2016.

Earlier this year, Piaggio gave some people the impression that it may be pulling back from the market in order to focus its attentions on the defense sector, for which it is developing the Hammerhead unmanned version of the Avanti. But new Piaggio CEO Renato Vaghi insisted that this is not the case and that it had simply intended to signal the fact that the new UAV will consume a significant portion of its resources in the next year or so. It remains fully committed to its P.180 Avanti Evo twinengine turboprop.

“Our presence at this key business aviation event underlines Piaggio Aerospace’s full commitment to the sector,” Vaghi commented. “We are very proud of our aircraft and will continue to promote it around the world.”

The Avanti Evo seats up to nine passengers and has a maximum IFR range of 1,809 nautical miles (3,350 kilometers) and a maximum cruise speed of 402 knots (745 km per hour). The

eye-catching pusherprop design has a maximum cruise altitude of 41,000 feet and a climb rate of 2,770 feet per minute.

Today, there are 220 Avantis in service around the world, five of which are the latest Evo version, plus 126 examples of the Avanti II and 89 of the original model. Piaggio recently produced the first example of the Evo to roll off its all-new production line at Villanova d’Albenga near Genoa in northwestern Italy. Piaggio is looking to achieve a total production rate of 30 aircraft a year in the new plant and will be ramping up its supply chain to achieve this goal.

The facility includes separate production lines for the Evo and the Hammerhead.

According to Vaghi, Piaggio is working hard to improve customer support, especially through a campaign to improve the availability of parts, which has been a source of frustration to operators. “There has been an issue of what parts are needed, and when, by operators,” he told AIN. “But now we are reaching agreements with third party [support] providers to ensure that what is needed is available.”

He pledged that significant improvements in this regard will be achieved by the second quarter of 2017. o

Join European business leaders, government officials, manufacturers, corporate aviation department personnel and all those involved in business aviation for the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2017). Save the date and visit the EBACE website to learn more.

SAVE THE DATE www.ebace.aero/ain

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