VistaJet goes for the treble chance VistaJet goes for the treble chance

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12 JUNE 2008 EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS the burden off the operator for flight planning, flight permission applications, handling and fueling requests, they are able to focus on the aircraft, crews and passengers.” Fliteport, he says, intends to capture significant market share of the trip support industry in line with the continued growth in business aviation around the world and in particular in the Middle East. Key markets will include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kenya, Sudan, Ghana, Libya, Syria, Iran, India and China. Palm Aviation is another provider that recognises the potential growth of on-demand flight support in the Middle East. “The company has set itself the goal of achieving 35 per cent growth per annum through extending its services to air traffic inbound to the Middle East and Africa originating in Europe and the CIS states,” says Samer Dabbagh, executive vp and ceo. “Palm Aviation is internationally certified to obtain global over-flight and landing permits, in addition to global fuelling and ground handling, weather forecasts, computerised flight plans, and ATC flight plans.” Palm Aviation has already announced a series of service contracts, covering ground handling services and logistical support with Middle East regional operators, including the Empire Aviation Group. “We will operate the first FBO at Dubai World Central (DWC) Aviation City, which is home to the world’s largest maintenance repair operation (MRO) centre. The FBO investment will total around US$ 12 million,” Dabbagh adds. According to DWC Aviation City, the aviation sector is expected to grow at more than 30 per cent annually for the next five years, with growth of more than nine per cent for the Middle East MRO market expected to continue over the same period. Palm Aviation, he points out, entered the aviation market to offer clients a ‘one stop shop’ and a high level of customised service provision for all clients’ flights and ground handling needs. AMAC, founded in the autumn of 2007 by a group of aviation specialists, is launching maintenance, refurbishment and completion services for corporate and private aircraft from its base in Basel. Heinz Köhli, ceo of AMAC Aerospace Switzerland says: “The first aircraft will be in the new hangar at Looking to buy a pre-owned business aircraft? Aircraft Shopper Online The Aircraft Market in Real Time www.ASO.com Fliteport has big Middle East ambitions. Pictured (left to right) are: Mazher Hussain, gm; Ghizlane Khalif and Asser Ahmed, flight operations; Maria Fe Ty, customer service; Oliver Hewson, business development; Alice Brendel, marketing; and Irfan Javed, flight operations. ASO has worldwide lis�ngs for business jets and turbo- props, and a large number of the aircra� are based in the USA. With today’s favorable currency exchange rates, buying a pre-owned plane in the US can be a great deal! Featuring thousands of lis�ngs, ASO.com is the most up to date and comprehensive online marketplace for used aircra�. Spend less �me searching and more �me choosing the business aircra� that’s right for you. ® Buyers use ASO For more information call +1-732-704-9561 or visit us at www.aso.com A Preston Hesselgesser: anticipating needs. EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg for maintenance, refurbishment and completion work in September this year.” He adds: “The business aviation market has seen annual growth of 5.8 per cent over the last 30 years. Forecasts indicate that this growth is set to accelerate. The positive outlook means there is room for a new company offering high quality services to enter this attractive market alongside the established players.” AMAC is building a 4,200 square metre double hangar. Operational work will begin in the aircraft halls, workshops and offices in September 2008. During the first phase, maintenance will be offered on Gulfstream, Boeing and Airbus aircraft. The second phase of construction will see the erection of a wide-body hangar with a floor space of around 8,200 square metres. “This will be big enough for wide-bodied aircraft such as a Boeing B747-400 or two Airbus A320. From 2009 services will also be offered for aircraft made by Dassault, Bombardier and other manufacturers,” says Köhli. Skilled technicians and managers have been appointed Gulfstream IVs are regular visitors at Newquay airport. to key positions in maintenance and completion, production organisation, quality assurance, aircraft management and charter. Airports expand business aviation facilities Airports also confirm the rise in demand for private aircraft services. Oxford Airport says Oxfordjet, a new private aviation terminal is on schedule for its July opening. Steve Jones, md, says: “The facility will cater for private jet traffic crew and passengers and will have triple the space of the existing general aviation terminal, with a fresh, modern design and amenities akin to a smart boutique hotel.” The new terminal represents the first phase of a major investment by Oxford Airport’s joint owners, international property developers the Reuben Brothers and Dawnay Day, who purchased it last summer from BBA Aviation. Business aviation at the airport, says newly appointed customer services manager David Surley, who joins from Air Mauritius, has doubled over the past three years. Oxford Airport has already built a new 3,500 square metre high bearing strength apron suitable for larger business aircraft up to the size and weight of the Boeing Business Jet and Airbus A318 Elite. “We are able to accommodate heavier business jets such as the Global Express and Gulfstream V (550), together with regional aircraft such as the BAe 146 family and the Bombardier Q400,” says Jones. “The new high bearing strength apron will allow us to accommodate aircraft with maximum weights in excess of 77 tonnes.” he said. “Throughout 2008, there will be further enhancements at the airport, specifically for the business aviation sector, including more hangar facilities to add to the 170,000 sq.ft. already established.” PremiAir says Oxford will be the new home of its fixed wing maintenance operations. Work on Hawker Beechcraft business aircraft, for which PremiAir is an Authorised Service Centre, will move from PremiAir’s headquarters at Blackbushe, Surrey, from September this year, making Blackbushe a dedicated base for rotary wing maintenance, says md David McRobert. “PremiAir no longer had sufficient capacity to grow its maintenance any further at Blackbushe. The airport’s comparatively short runway length and lack of ILS always constrained fixed wing operations. It was therefore logical to find a new base for our fixed wing business and thereby create much needed space for further helicopter maintenance activity.” St. Gallen-Altenrhein executives says that discretion, privacy and efficiency is why royals, celebrities and executives use the airport as a gateway to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. “The airport is experiencing a tremendous upward trend in business aviation movements,” they add. Newquay Cornwall airport and its FBO Midwest Executive report that, during 2007, business jet movements were up 11 per cent to a total of 903 aircraft. In 2008, it is forecast to grow 10 per cent, which will push movements up to the 1,000 a year mark, says md Nick Weston. “Because of the airport’s westerly and coastal position and its long runway it is increasingly popular as a technical stop for transatlantic flights,” he adds. “Fuel prices at Newquay are very competitive too and we saw a 28% increase in fuel sales last year.” Midwest Executive Aviation opened its executive/business aviation facility at Newquay in 2003. With additional U.K. FBO locations at Birmingham International Airport and Durham Tees Valley Airport, Midwest Executive Aviation is now the second largest FBO chain in the UK in terms of locations. Newquay points out that it can accommodate a range of jets from VLJs to the heavier jets such as the Airbus ACJ/A319, Boeing BBJ, Embraer Legacy and Bombardier Challenger Series. London Biggin Hill markets itself as London's only non-slot-restricted airport. Airport director, Peter Lonergan and business development manager, Robert Walters, says there is huge potential. FAL Aviation, an FBO based at London Ashford (Lydd), Kent, reports a record number of movements and fuel sales since its opening in September 2005. Jet fuel sales, it says, almost doubled. The rapid expansion has led operators to focus on maintaining standards, an issue that led to a lively debate during the EBACE forum for FBOs and business airports. The forum's panel included Kerry Besgrove, gm Harrods Aviation, London Luton, Kim Dimetro, customer relations manager, Avitat FBOs, U.S., Brandon O’Reilly, ceo TAG Farnborough, London U.K. and Graham Stephenson, group FBO manager, ExecuJet, Zurich. The narrowing of differences between FBOs in the U.S. and Europe were among discussion highlights. Construction group Balfour Beatty has agreed to buy Blackpool airport for £14 million from MAR Properties, a Northern Ireland-based property developer. Analysts say there is scope to add business aviation facilities to diversify activities currently undertaken by low cost carriers Ryanair and Jet2.com.
EUROPEAN BUSINESS AIR NEWS Lonely Beech Baron era is far from forgotten as Gama goes global Gama Aviation, which began commercial operations with one Beech Baron in 1983, is finalising the launch of an operation based at the heart of the booming Middle East private aviation market. “The first step was to fulfill our commitment to develop a UAE-based company,” says gm Dave Edwards. “We are ready to push the whole project forward and I will be flying out this month to finalise the details.” Marwan Khalek, ceo, adds: “Expansion within the GCC region is an exciting step in Gama’s development but it will be done in tandem with our growth in our other markets. We are looking at more acquisition opportunities throughout Europe.” The UAE is among the most favoured locations for private aviation bases to target business in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries which also include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar. Gama will be operating from Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE where it has already built business contacts. Khalek says: “We should have our own UAE AOC within months. The plan is to develop a full FBO and maintenance operation in the emirates. However, we currently manage a UK registered business jet which is semi-permanently based in Dubai, and we have built up a knowledge of the region. Therefore, we are well-placed to recognise a good business opportunity should it arise.” In the U.S. Gama has acquired PrivatAir Inc., the U.S. arm of the Swiss-based PrivatAir Group. Now branded as Gama Aviation Inc., the company remains based in Stratford with operating bases at Teterboro, New Jersey; West Palm Beach, Florida; Norwich, New York and at 15 other satellite bases. But Khalek recalls: “It was in 1983 that Gama Aviation first saw the light of day at Fairoaks airport, a small aerodrome with an 800 metre runway 30 miles from central London.” Co-founders Khalek, and Steve Wright, now operations director, shared responsibility for everything from finding the customers to flying the aircraft. “What a 25 years it has been,” says Khalek. “We come from a lowly Baron at Fairoaks to a fleet of more than 65 aircraft based around the world, a team of nearly 300 pilots, and a round-the-clock operation Marwan Khalek: founder of a small company that became a global player. that is borne of relentless growth.” Now headquartered at Farnborough, Gama has bases in Moscow, Geneva, Zurich, Aberdeen and Glagow. Khalek says: “As a fundamentally British company our traditions are European. However, the time is right for us now to branch out into the Middle East and American marketplaces and these are opportunities that excite us.” Gama is a prime example of a charter operation expanding into a multi-service provider or a one-stop shop for private aviation services (see focus on Pages 12 and 13). Organic growth and strategic acquisitions have broadened Gama’s services to include Gama Support Services, its aircraft engineering division; Gama Leasing Ltd., which specialises in the acquisition, sales and leasing of aircraft; Gama Aviation, its Swissregistered aviation services provider and Gama Aviation Inc. that covers the U.S. market and an FBO is now in the offing. An agreement with a private equity group has enabled Gama, a name chosen and formed by putting together the initials of names of four of Khalek’s immediate family, to accelerate its expansion programme. The group has acquired a 33 per cent stake but Khalek retains overall control. From Europe, Gama now operates a BBJ, Global Express, Global 5000, Gulfstreams including the G550, Challengers, Hawkers including the 4000 and Learjet 45s and 60s. These are complemented by the Beechcraft 1900, 200C, Sikorsky S76C++ and a range of Eurocopters. But: “We intend to add to the quality of our fleet where necessary,” says Khalek. And the hard-working early days in 1983 when Gama survived by taking contracts to ferry orphan animals to surrogate mothers, are far from forgotten. “We are still hungry for business and focused on service,” says Khalek. European Aviation Air Charter (EAAC), based at the U.K.'s Bournemouth airport, kept a few key parts and features before it arranged the demolition of a Boeing 747-236B. The aircraft was scrapped after the removal of the airliner’s cockpit and tail and the salvage of the wheel assemblies.General Demolition was engaged by GJD Services, a specialist aircraft decommissioning and asset recovery company, to assist in the demolition. European Aviation was founded in 1989 by Australian entrepreneur Paul Stoddart, former owner of the Minardi Formula One racing team, and specialises in charter services and vip flights. Abu Dhabi headquartered Royal Jet, chaired by HE Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, has taken delivery of a Learjet 60. President and ceo Shane O’Hare says it will join Royal Jet’s managed aircraft programme. “The addition of the Lear 60 supports the company's second five year plan which sees the amount of aircraft in our fleet expanding to around 24,” he adds. The plan calls for Royal Jet to achieve a five-fold revenue increase by 2013. The Lear 60 has seats for a maximum of seven and there is an option, depending on the number of passengers, for a full hot catering service. Capt. Chris Norgill, who will be in charge of the aircraft, says: “The Learjet 60 has a greater range capability than its predecessors allowing it to fly for up to five hours without refuelling.” Royal Jet’s growing fleet includes five BBJs, which makes Royal Jet the world’s largest single BBJ operator; two G-300s and a G-IVSP, Avro RJ85 premier short-haul jet, a medevac Lear 55 and two twinengined Lear 35s. Royal Jet held a special ceremony to celebrated its fifth birthday and made the announcement that it had captured 16 per cent of the region’s charter market. “Our client portfolio includes government officials, decision makers, the business and corporate community, sporting and show business celebrities, major event organisers, high JUNE 2008 13 Royal Jet seeks five-fold revenue increase within the next five years end bespoke travel providers, insurance companies, the health care sector and so on,” Sheikh Hamdan says. “Abu Dhabi is showing rapid growth and settling its position as a prime business and tourism hub, which will have a major impact on the fortunes of the international aviation market,” he adds. O’Hare says: “Last year, the number of aircraft handled at Royal Jet’s Abu Dhabi terminal grew by some 90 per cent. And in the last financial year, we contracted over 30 new charter customers. We believe we can keep progressing in the same vein.” HE Sheikh Hamdan: reports progress in the international aviation sector. He adds: “Royal Jet’s FBO currently receives around 150 aircraft per month, offering a fast turnaround service, as well as allowing clients a technical stopover on their way from Asia to America or vice-versa.”
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