MEBAA 2018 opens today as industry participants look for direction in an uncertain market. The Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association’s (MEBAA) involvement in organizing the biennial show is likely to give the industry a shot in the arm by helping it move ahead from recent issues caused by an 18-month boycott of Qatar by a number of fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members and a slowdown in business aviation in Saudi Arabia.
Some 35 aircraft were on static display on the eve of the show, including a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, an Airbus A340, two Bombardier Global 6000s, Gulfstream G500 and G600, and an Embraer Lineage 1000E, as well as a single-engine Cirrus Vision Jet making its MEBAA debut.
The MEBAA Conference takes place on days two and three of the event, December 11 to 12. After an opening session featuring Jamal Al Hai, deputy chairman, Dubai Airports, and member of the UAE Federal National Council and OEMs led by Khader Mattar, Bombardier v-p of sales, MEA, Asia Pacific and China, will address the question of private aircraft design. Later sessions will study the merits of blockchain for business aviation, threats from cybersecurity, and the availability of bizjet finance. The conference’s second day will deal with climate change, while a panel will look at innovation within the business aviation industry.
Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) has teamed with recently formed Airbus Corporate Helicopters (ACH) to highlight the companies’ VIP airliners and rotorcraft and emphasize Airbus’s value proposition as the only manufacturer to offer both private jets and private helicopters.
“Somebody who might buy a helicopter might also buy a corporate jet and vice versa,” explained Benoit Defforge, ACJ president. “That’s why we’re co-branding.”
ACJ itself is on the verge of beginning deliveries of its next-generation corporate airliners—the re-engined, single-aisle ACJ320neo and ACJ319neo, and the widebody ACJ330neo and ACJ350 XWB. “The Middle East market is the number one market for the ACJ,” Defforge said. Just over half in the region are owned by private entities and the remainder by governments.
Meanwhile, ACH, launched at EBACE in May, aims to mimic ACJ’s bespoke services for the corporate and high-net-worth individual rotorcraft market, while also providing complementary products for ACJ customers. “If you’re going from one end of the world to another, the helicopter comes in for that last leg,” said Nitin Sareen, ACH head of marketing.
ACH offers three levels of interior outfitting: ACH Line, featuring simple, sporty interiors; ACH Exclusive, high-end luxury cabins; and ACH Edition, interiors developed in partnership with luxury brands including Hermes and Pagani. ACH has on MEBAA static display a cabin mockup of an ACH145 outfitted with the Mercedes-Benz Style Edition.
Air BP Looks Forward to New Al Maktoum GA Fuel Terminal
Fuel supplier Air BP believes it has much more to offer general aviation in the Middle East after playing a central role in establishing a new fuel terminal at Al Maktoum International Airport, the venue for MEBAA and the Dubai Airshow. At Al Maktoum, the company was selected in 2015 as lead participant by the joint venture designing a new general aviation fuel terminal. Work has just commenced at the airport to connect the main fuel hydrant to the new general aviation terminal, which is home to Jet Aviation, Jetex, ExecuJet, DC Aviation, and Falcon Aviation. The work is expected to be completed next year.
The UK company, which operates some 20 aviation fuel facilities in the Middle East, said it is winning competitive bids through a focus on technical expertise that can help airports and local fuel companies. This includes a “complete aviation fuel consultancy service” including the design, build, and operation of fueling facilities.
According to Michel Saba, Air BP manager general aviation for the Middle East, other recent successes include a technical services agreement with ADNOC, at Abu Dhabi International Airport, to interlink two existing ship unloading lines at the Anabeeb fuel terminal, as well as the project management of the tank farm refurbishment at Erbil International Airport in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
ExecuJet is poised to begin construction of its new Middle East headquarters facility at Dubai World Central’s Dubai South area. The Luxaviation subsidiary recently finalized contracts with the airport authority on three plots of land, totaling approximately 5.5 acres (22,558 sq m), where it plans to build a new, more-than-$30 million FBO and MRO complex.
“Dubai South is coming along very nicely as the new home of general aviation,” said Michael Berry, ExecuJet’s president of aviation services and vice president for the company’s Middle East operations. “Ultimately I think the plans still remain that all general aviation traffic will migrate from Dubai International Airport to Dubai South. Presently, the company has a stand-alone temporary FBO at Dubai South with a 5,000-sq-ft (465-sq-m) terminal.
According to Berry, the company is finalizing the designs and expects to break ground in the first quarter on the new complex, which will feature a terminal more than four times the size of the one it will replace. It will offer full customs and immigration on site, with several private lounges, common lobby, crew rest areas with sleeping pods, and prayer rooms, among other amenities. The company also plans for a 108,000-sq-ft (10,000-sq-m) hangar for maintenance and aircraft storage, which will boost its available space at both airports by 50 percent as its thriving MRO business relocates to Dubai South.
Jetcraft: Steady Growth for MidEast Preowned Market
With more than 500 preowned business aircraft transactions totaling more than $10 billion concluded in the last decade, aircraft broker Jetcraft has proven adept at cultivating opportunities, and the Middle East appears ready for a harvest of transactions. “The market has been recovering,” said Pascal Bachmann, Jetcraft’s senior v-p of sales for EMEA. “It’s a good market in which sellers have options, not only buyers, as in past years.”
As of the third quarter, Middle East transactions represented 10 percent of Jetcraft’s year-to-date deals, in line with historical levels fluctuating between 8 and 12 percent, Bachmann said. “We see in the Middle East the same trend we see in other markets,” he added. “The tendency for people with smaller aircraft to want to upgrade to larger aircraft.”
In the recently released fourth edition of its annual 10-year business aviation market forecast, Jetcraft predicts regional growth trends will continue. In a sign of increasing normalcy in the turbulent area, Bachmann noted “a few” business jets have been purchased by Iraqi buyers this year.
With preowned activity heating up, “It’s more important than ever for a buyer or seller to seek professional advice so they can precisely know what terms make sense,” said Bachmann. “Information and market intelligence is half the battle.”
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