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Private jet industry thrives in Middle East

Industry figures suggest that the Middle East business aviation industry is fairing well against the economic slump compared to other regions.

Demand for business jet flights from wealthy travelers remains high, said Kevin Ducksbury, director of Air Partner for the Middle East and Asia.

“If you look at the client profile here, the wealth and how it is spent is different to what we see in Europe and the Americas,” Ducksbury said in an interview with Arabian Business. “The high net-worth individual who travels for leisure purposes is certainly more prominent here.”

Ducksbury said that clients in the region are willing to spend greater amounts on larger aircrafts even if there are only one or two passengers.
“In the Middle East, it’s more about the aircraft and the perception of the aircraft they are travelling on,” he added.

On an objective note, Ducksbury also mentioned that the sector had its share of losses for 2009. He says: “We have certainly seen a little bit of slowdown.” 

He explains, “In Dubai it’s been hit quite hard and in the overall Middle Eastern market there is still growth, but it has slowed down over the last eight months.”
According to the company, in 20 offices, the office based in the Middle East was the only one that registered growth in 2009.

While he continues to view the situation optimistically, Ducksbury admits that they are anticipating slow summer sales, because people will leave the region.

“We are seeing more operators, not just local ones but also European and US ones, looking to base aircraft here in the region, so all the time we are seeing the supply of private jets expand,” he said.

“It’s possible that this is slightly ahead of the demand, but we are in a limbo situation where people are waiting for the downturn to flatten out and growth to start coming back again.