The new superstars seize their chance

If there was such a thing as a ‘superplayer’ Royal Jet would certainly be one. That’s the view of the company’s commercial vice president John Morgan.

The award-winning Abu Dhabi-based luxury charter operator is constantly expanding and last year opened a Dubai charter brokerage business to give it global reach.

The service offers aircraft availability when Royal Jet’s own jets are either in use or of an unsuitable size. Royal Jet says it aims to double its fleet by 2013, has recently moved into Saudi Arabia, operates a Fixed Base of Operation (FBO) at Abu Dhabi and is also active in the medevac field.

Like several of the region’s rapidly evolving VIP aviation businesses, Royal Jet has imported new talent, often casualties of the downturn elsewhere. Morgan, himself, was part of the team that created now defunct British all-business class airline EOS. The company has also recently hired Richard Roth, a former consultant for the low-cost carrier sector, to help drive down costs while keeping the company operating at the level of service its customers expect. Morgan said: “We are all part of a bigger experienced team. We work closely as a unit to get the best out of the business and develop a strategic direction.”

Morgan has introduced the concept of a personal chef on board, while Roth looks to sourcing and wastage to make sure supplies are being used effectively. The company is also refurbishing its fleet to make sure the brand is realised throughout the interiors.

Royal Jet is one of several operators shaping the new VIP aviation landscape in the region. Another company that could lay claim to the ‘superplayer’ title is Jordanian luxury charter business Arab Wings, which recently announced that it had obtained a UAE air operators certificate (AOC). This it used to open a new charter company – Gulf Wings – in Sharjah in December. Gulf Wings has a Challenger 605 under management, with four more aircraft set to join its fleet at the time of writing. All together the fleet size will be 15, including the aircraft the company has based in Jordan under its Arab Wings brand.

Ahmad Abu Ghazaleh, Gulf Wings chief executive officer said Arab Wings is aiming to be the largest aircraft services group in the UAE within two years. He added: “You may think this is ambitious, but to quote billionaire investor Warren Buffet, ‘it is good to be fearful when people are greedy and greedy when people are fearful’. Our growth is organic and coming from revenues, which is great for us.”

He added that the next logical step for the company is to establish a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility (MRO) in Jordan and said that Arab Wings already has: “several large MRO players in Europe talking about possible partnership with us”. Arab Wings’ fleet is comprised mostly of Bombardier aircraft, so any potential partner is likely to cater for that type.

Arab Wings is also preparing to launch Luxury Wings in Bahrain and has established Afaq Holding Company there, which is 70 per cent owned by a group of Saudi investors and 30 per cent by Royal Jordanian Air Academy (RJAA). Additionally, it set up Global Wings, a specialised global aircraft broker company based in the UAE. Headquartered in Bahrain, Global Wings will also share offices with Arab Wings and Gulf Wings in Jordan and will sell aircraft on behalf of Arab Wings and other operators. With an initial investment of US$1m, Ghazaleh anticipates that the company will do well for Arab Wings. He said: “We have seen the bottom of the market. A couple of years ago expansion here was exponential and unnatural. People were buying 20-30 aircraft at once but what we lack most in this industry is human resources, so we have seen lots of closures in the last couple of months.” The company also owns an aviation university and has said it is on the hunt for a European acquisition.

Fellow UAE operator Dana Executive Jets also has aspiration for ‘superplayer’ status and will take delivery of two new aircraft in the next few months – one large cabin and one mid-size. The company is remaining tight-lipped as to the aircraft types, but says that they form part of ambitious expansion plans for the region over the next few months.

Wholly owned by the government of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, Dana offers charter, management and line maintenance services. According to Ramon Molzun sales manager, the company has major growth plans for the region and will open a new office in Dubai in January 2010. This will augment the line maintenance facility it opened last year in Ras Al Khaimah with Turkish MRO specialist MNG to support its Hawker and Bombardier Challenger aircraft.

It has also established two satellite sales offices in Abu Dhabi. Molzun said: “We often have positioning flights to these destinations and this enables us to maximise this potential.”

There are other possible ‘superplayers’ waiting in the wings. Qatar and UK executive charter operator Rizon is working toward a February 2010 completion on its new US$16 million 13,000 sqm hangar and FBO/VIP terminal facility in London Biggin Hill Airport . It has five business jets based in Doha and one aircraft in London. The company has offices in Qatar, the UK, Bahrain and the UAE and is focused on providing travel solutions and business aircraft support in the Middle East, Europe, India, Russia, the Far East and Africa. 

Austrian-headquartered VistaJet may not be a ‘superplayer’ in terms of reach across several market segments, but it certainly has sizeable ambitions for the Middle East. The block charter company has said it sees a significant proportion of its major order for Bombardier business jets being based in the region.

The company ordered $1.2bn worth of Bombardier jets in 2008 and says many of those aircraft will be based in the Gulf region and Saudi Arabia. To ensure it fills seats it appointed former Netjets Middle East boss Dr Elias Maroun to help grow the business.

  Chairman Thomas Flohr expects to achieve market growth of 10 per cent in the next three years. He said: “The Middle East is right in the geographical centre of Europe and Asia. By 2012 I expect the region to account for one third of our revenues.”

He underscored the importance of relationships to create business. He said: “People who spend $2m per year on 200-300 hours flying are happy and comfortable to talk to the principal; they feel an affinity with me. I like to get close to the real decision makers. I am VistaJet’s biggest guinea pig. I represent the cost-conscious value buyer. I pay for value and the amount is not that important.”

The new ‘superplayers’ are attracting specialists from all over the world eager to be part of the growth. Royal Jet’s Morgan explained why: “This part of the world is extremely attractive and a vibrant and exciting place to live. It is great to be here. I can only see the pool of talent getting bigger.”