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DC AVIATION AL-FUTTAIM<br />
7500 in December. We have a Global 6000 coming up, and two more<br />
aircraft due to join the fleet this year.”<br />
laws and setting up businesses. All of that is driving growth, and<br />
people feel confident to go there and do business,” says James.<br />
The Middle East, and Dubai specifically, is well known for being<br />
a large cabin aircraft market, which also has one of the highest<br />
percentages of corporate airliners in the world. It is perhaps<br />
surprising then that one of the DC Aviation Al-Futtaim fleet is a<br />
smaller Pilatus PC-12 turboprop.<br />
Although the aircraft had been in the managed fleet for some<br />
time, James says that the owner released it to the charter market<br />
during <strong>2022</strong>’s World Cup in Qatar, almost as an experiment to see<br />
how it would fare against the more established large jet aircraft in<br />
the market.<br />
“We’ve had a PC-12 which had been in the fleet with us for some<br />
time, but the owner decided to put it for charter. It’s actually the<br />
Middle East’s first propeller-driven charter aircraft, which we<br />
debuted during the World Cup,” says James. “It proved to be a<br />
success, so the owner decided to put it on the charter market<br />
full-time.”<br />
The company also says it is seeing growth in India. “Dubai has been<br />
home to many Ultra and High Net worth individuals and families, so<br />
we are able to provide services to those particular clientele.”<br />
To enter the market DC<br />
Aviation partnered with<br />
Al-Futtaim Group, a UAE-based<br />
conglomerate which operates<br />
retail partnerships, automotive<br />
franchises and owns malls<br />
across the Middle East.”<br />
DC Aviation was followed into DWC by many other business<br />
aviation companies. In terms of movements, DWC has managed to<br />
capture most business aircraft, with up to 70% of aircraft choosing<br />
to use DWC when visiting Dubai.<br />
Dubai’s location makes it the perfect place to capture business<br />
from the rest of the region. Although the local airline Emirates<br />
touches almost all parts of the globe with sometimes multiple-daily<br />
frequencies, the transitory nature of a big portion of its passengers<br />
who are just changing planes in Dubai almost hides the fact that<br />
Dubai is a major destination itself, especially for visitors from<br />
around the region as well as Africa.<br />
Two of the countries that have seen a lot of activity are Saudi<br />
Arabia and India, the former being in growth mode following a 2018<br />
government anti-corruption crackdown.<br />
“Since the Crown Prince laid out his Vision 2030 where he wants to<br />
modernize Saudi Arabia, we have seen a new impetus for growth.<br />
He’s very much modernizing the country, updating the country’s<br />
So, for the next few years, the company will look at expanding its<br />
fleet in the region. At the end of <strong>2022</strong>, the company had ten aircraft<br />
in its managed fleet in Dubai, which includes nine super-midsize<br />
and up jets, and the Pilatus PC-12 turboprop.<br />
“Aircraft management is always the priority because that feeds into<br />
the FBO side, the maintenance and the hangar parking, so I would<br />
say that aircraft management is the priority,” says James.<br />
“At the end of the day, we are a 360-degree management company,<br />
providing Ground Handling Services, Aircraft Maintenance and any<br />
other fields required to look after our client’s assets and individual<br />
needs,” he added.<br />
<strong>YE</strong> <strong>2022</strong> <strong>MENA</strong> BUSINESS JET FLEET REPORT | 15
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