| Kippreport.com

Kipp’s jet fleet is well served

December 8, 2010 11:53 by Samuel Potter

Now is a good time to own a fleet of private jets in the UAE, Kipp is finding out. According to the National, the country is set to overtake Saudi as the largest market for business jets in the Middle East thanks to “sustained orders from wealthy individuals and charter operators pushing the sector to new highs.” That means if we ever decide to dispose of our fleet of Learjets, we should get a good price.

According to the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA), both the UAE and Saudi can now boast around 160 private jets.

“Saudi Arabia was far ahead in the business aviation market,” said Ali al Naqbi, MEBAA’s founding chairman. “But now the UAE is really catching up from every angle, including more fixed bases of operation, more charter operators and more aircraft.”

The paper says the shift is being driven by the conversion of a former military base into the Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi, and the increasing volume of traffic in Dubai. Dubai International Airport is so busy that private jets are limited to certain slots, apparently. Sharjah airport has business jets now after Gama Aviation arrived this year, and the National points out that the Al Maktoum International Airport will surely launch a business jet service in the near future.

To help encourage this boom, Al Bateen Executive Airport announced yesterday (it’s the Middle East Business Aviation Show in Dubai, hence all the announcements) that it will slash charges across the board for executive jets, meaning using and maintaining Kipp’s fleet will be more cost effective than ever. Landing fees are dropping by 35 percent, and parking fees by 17 percent.

Stephen Jones, Al Bateen Executive Airport’s man at the top, said, “When you launch an airport in a competitive market, you encourage operators to come in and give them a reason why they need to come back otherwise they would stay wherever they are. We are going to do it several ways by modernising our facility and offering service quality as good as our competitors – if not better. When you have done those things – they still won’t come. Then the next thing is – which makes business sense – to slash business cost. Al Bateen is working on all of those issues.”

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