Billionaire Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal made global headlines when he became the first individual to purchase the 900-passenger capacity Airbus A380 for private use. At a height of seven stories and an interior space equivalent to two tennis courts, the double-decker has been dubbed a flying palace. It may be customized with private bedrooms, offices, a personal gym, Jacuzzi and even a movie theatre.
But although Prince Alwaleed’s latest purchase, valued at over 220 million USD, sets him in a class of his own, the world's thirteenth richest man is just one of a growing number of Middle Easterners who have opted for the comfort and convenience of private air travel. In fact, the industry has boomed over the last decade with the number of private jet operators in the Arab world multiplying each year in tandem with the region’s ever-prosperous oil-fuelled economies.
“The need for corporate aviation has increased enormously,” says Keith Bonson, managing director for regional marketing and sales at US firm NetJets, which has established a subsidiary out of Saudi Arabia. The company offers fractional jet ownership, a package deal alternative to purchasing and maintaining you own private plane. Adoption of this model, which has become increasingly popular in the US and Europe, indicates the growing diversity of the regional market.
Bonson says private jet activity in Jeddah and Riyadh alone more than doubled from 2003 to 2006, rising from 7,000 to 14,500 aircraft movements. There has also been an increase in the competition. “Four years ago Dubai only had one operator and now there are nine,” he says.
Charter flights are driving a large chunk of the business, which is growing at a staggering rate of 40 per cent annually for business aviation, according to UAE-based Royal Jet. It says the Middle East charter industry is currently worth 500 million USD a year with the majority of the business emanating from Saudi Arabia while the UAE accounts for some 176 million USD. And Royal Jet makes another conclusion: Middle Easterners like their planes big. “The market is characterised by large aircraft dominance,” says the company's president and ceo, Shane O'Hare. And thus quite appropriately, Royal Jet, which was established in 2003, now pitches itself as the world's largest single operator of the coveted Boeing Business Jet (BBJ).
The converted commercial-type aircraft sells for over 50 million USD (minus the furnishings) but Royal Jet allows you to take a round trip flight on a BBJ from Abu Dhabi to New York for only 500,000 USD plus change. A trip on the same plane from Abu Dhabi to London will run a little over 240,000 USD but can also be made on the smaller Gulfstream 300 for around 130,000 USD.
In addition to offering a much greater range, the BBJ has 28 VIP-style seats and a bedroom – known in the industry as a state room – compared the G300's 10 VIP seats, three of which are on a couch.
But if these prices seem a little steep, there’s no need to despair. A range of smaller private jets is available for shorter, relatively more modest travel across the region as well as to continental Europe. For instance, some charter carriers charge as little as 4,000 USD to 5,000 USD per hour on planes that will get you across the region and selected European cities.
But there is more to private travel than the actual flight. Jet-setters also enjoy streamlined disembarking and customs procedures, which are usually handled by a concierge staff and take place at swanky VIP terminals. But here again the perks of executive travel need not be limited to the ultra-elite. In the highly competitive Middle East aviation industry, many commercial liners are beginning to offer services that had traditionally been restricted to private plane owners. And this trend is only bound to increase with the advent of larger aircraft purchases and the construction of sprawling new airports across the region. Take Qatar Airways, which has just built what it claims to be the world’s only First Class and Business Class terminal at a cost of 90 million USD.
In addition to a streamlined concierge check-in service, the 10,000m2 facility features spa treatment rooms, a sauna and Jacuzzi, as well as fine dining restaurants. And while in the air, First Class Qatar Airways passengers can enjoy a stand up bar, leather sofas, electronically-operated window shades, and ‘spotlight mood lighting.’ Roundtrip first class fares on the carrier range from around 6,600 USD on flights from Doha to New York and around 1,500 USD from Doha to Beirut, according to quotes from the company in December.
Of course this is no substitute for the impression you can make arriving on a personalized ride, especially if it's a gargantuan A380. But for those who still believe cost is an important factor, industry experts warn that only air travel in excess of 300 hours per year warrants individual plane ownership – that is at least from an economical point of view.
Contacts
NetJets Middle East
Riyadh, KSA
Tel + 9661 217 1800
HYPERLINK "http://www.nasaviation.com" www.nasaviation.com
Royal Jet
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Tel + 9712 575 700
HYPERLINK "http://www.royaljetgroup.com" www.royaljetgroup.com
Qatar Airways
Doha, Qatar
Tel + 974 449 600
HYPERLINK "http://www.qatarairways.com" www.qatarairways.com
