Victor is partnering with Finnish SAF producer Neste. To date, the company said it has had 427 SAF bookings, with average spend per booking at AED4,500, helping it achieve total CO2 reduction of 653 tonnes.

Sharing its learnings, the company said that: “One in five private aircraft charterers are willing to pay an additional AED4,500 for SAF per booking, providing an average carbon emission reduction of 1.5 tonnes. The average amount of Jet-A fossil fuel Victor customers choose to replace with SAF is 30% per booking. Victor’s aim in 2024 is for at least one in five MENA customers to buy SAF for their jet charter bookings”.

The company said it is working on two-pronged approach of increasing voluntary SAF demand and encourage adoption of its SAF blueprint by other business and commercial aviation companies across MENA.

“Our results in partnership with Neste evidence many flyers acknowledge they are living beyond their environmental means and will therefore voluntarily pay more for their carbon consumption when they fly.  We strongly advocate for the wider aviation industry to accelerate SAF demand by enabling all flyers to voluntarily buy SAF,” said Toby Edwards, co-CEO, Victor.

Victor recently relocated its headquarters to Abu Dhabi from the UK.

Victor and Neste signed a partnership agreement in June 2022 for SAF purchases.

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Set to open in 2025, the Abu Dhabi Service Centre, covering nearly 100,000sqft, will be the manufacturer’s first full-service facility in the UAE. Featuring a large hangar, the centre will house a parts depot and suite of maintenance services including scheduled and unscheduled heavy maintenance, aircraft modifications, paint modification, aircraft on ground (AOG) capabilities and aircraft parking services. The facility will be able to accommodate up to four Global 7500 aircraft and service the new Global 8000, after its commissioning in 2025.

Éric Martel, president and CEO, Bombardier said the Middle East is an important market for the manufacturer, with more than 150 aircraft. “Abu Dhabi is a dynamic financial hub for business and commerce in the UAE, and this service facility will provide significant benefits, quick aircraft turnarounds, and OEM peace of mind to our growing customer base,” he said. The new service facility is expected to lead to 100 extra jobs.

Jamal Salem Al Dhaheri, MD and CEO, Abu Dhabi Airports welcomed the new investment. “Located at Abu Dhabi International Airport, one of the fastest growing airports in the world, we have no doubt that Bombardier’s global aviation leadership, experience, and expertise will be a catalyst for invaluable service delivery and excellence, upon the facility’s official unveiling,” he said.

Matthew Nicholls, senior advisor, Communications and Public Affairs, told Corporate Jet Investor: “Bombardier has had a presence in the Middle East for many years. But the addition of this new, dynamic facility will help us better serve our growing customer base in the region and provide them with new and essential services.”

 Bombardier remains a market leader in the Middle East, he added. “This region represents considerable growth opportunities for us, both in terms of aircraft sales as well as aftermarket development.” 

The latest investment follows Bombardier’s recent service centre expansion and improvement projects in Singapore; Miami, Florida; Melbourne, Australia; and London, UK. Together, the expansion totals nearly an additional 1m sqft of new service capacity to its worldwide aftermarket network.

Speaking at the inauguration of the manufacturer’s new Biggin Hill facility, Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive vice president, Services and Support and Corporate Strategy, Bombardier told Corporate Jet Investor last week: “We have been very clear for the Bombardier fleet, we are looking at a 50% share of a $4bn market. There is plenty of room for everyone else.” 

Pictured are Bombardier executives and airport officials at the ground-breaking ceremony. From left: Steven Polmans, vice president, Business Development & Free Zones, AD Airports, Francois Bourienne, chief commercial officer, AD Airports, Jamal Salem AL Dhaheri, MD and CEO, AD Airports, Éric Martel, president and CEO, Bombardier, Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive vice president, Services and Supportand Corporate Strategy, Bombardier, Zeshan Malik, senior director, Corporate Development, Bombardier and Christopher Debergh, vice president, OEM Parts and Services, Bombardier

Meanwhile, read more about the official inauguration of Bombardier’s Biggin Hill Service Centre, UK here. If you enjoyed reading this story, please register for our free weekly One Minute Week newsletter, packed with a wealth of news and views about business aviation, here.

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Jet Aviation, a General Dynamics subsidiary, has added further modular tail docking capabilities to the maintenance hangar for structural repairs on aircraft in the Dubai airport.  It also extended refurbishment facilities at the site, including its full-cabin refurbishment, avionic modifications and high-speed internet offerings.

Hardy Bütschi, vice president, regional operations, Middle East and Dubai, Jet Aviation said the expansion was driven by demand in the region.

“Over the past year we have seen more requests for larger cabin refurbishment, structural repair projects, avionic modifications, and upgrades at our fixed-wing maintenance site in Dubai and have adapted and expanded our capabilities to match,” he said. It has also expanded its line maintenance and on-site support services in the region. 

The Dubai facility has also improved its eddy current and ultrasonic equipment to support increasing volumes of non-destructive testing (NDT) inspections, as well as growing its on-site borescope capabilities both in-house and with regional OEM partners.

The company is expanding further in the Middle East, having extended its line maintenance capabilities into Al Bateen Airport, Abu Dhabi. It also plans to expand into Saudi Arabia in 2023.

“We have been operating in the Middle East for over 40 years,” said Jeremie Caillet, senior vice president, regional operations EMEA, Jet Aviation. “The Middle East is a key strategic hub in our network, and we are committed to supporting the growth of business aviation across the region.”

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Ahmed has more than 25 years’ experience in government and private sectors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  Before joining RoyalJet, he was general manager of Abu Dhabi Airports. He also spent 12 years at Global Aerospace Logistics (GAL) where he became vice president for Commercial and Government Affairs.  

Holding an international licence in Air Traffic Control operations from the Airways Corporation, New Zealand, Ahmed is also a board member at the Abu Dhabi government flight-testing facility.

RoyalJet is based at its FBO in Abu Dhabi International Airport, where it operates a fleet of 12 Boeing business Jets (BBJs) and three Bombardier Global 5000/6000 aircraft. It acquired the fleet’s longest-range BBJ in July, capable of flying more than 12 hours non-stop. 

RoyalJet is “delighted” with the new CEO, according to RoyalJet’s chairman Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan: “RoyalJet’s role in the UAE economy and regional aviation sector is well known and with Mohammed’s expertise and experience, we are at the dawn of another era of success and brilliance.”  

Ahmed said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be part of this pioneering and visionary organisation and look forward to driving RoyalJet to greater growth and success.” 

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The most important upgrade was the widening of the runway and this will allow the airport to handle larger VIP aircraft.

Other works undertaken since the private jet facility closed for all but helicopters on 11th May include a substantial new boundary wall, runway resurfacing, upgraded ground lighting, enhanced signage and landscaping.

“It has been a major project involving different elements of the airport,” said Matar Al Suwaidi, senior vice president of terminal operations at Abu Dhabi Airport. “Everything you can see and touch is being enhanced.”

Airport ushers in new era

The refurbishments mark a new era for an airport that was the first modern international facility in Abu Dhabi.

Al Bateen opened in the late 1960s to cater for a surge in people arriving into Abu Dhabi after oil was found. It replaced the sand airstrip, had a distinctive concrete-roofed terminal and even gave its name to “Airport Road”, which has since been renamed Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Street.

But it was clear even by the 1970s that demand in Abu Dhabi was likely to necessitate a much larger facility.

“Al Bateen is at the heart of Abu Dhabi and on the island, so expansion would be limited. The leadership foresaw the airport [needed] to be moved away from[the] island,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.

The current main airport opened in 1982 to cater for increased demand, and, in the years since, Al Bateen functioned as a military base before becoming a dedicated airport for private jets.

The Abu Dhabi Air Expo is being held at Al Bateen between 1^st and 3^rd November 2022.

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The season’s final race is set to take place on November 29.

Abu Dhabi Airports anticipates a 20 percent increase in aircraft movements this year at Al Bateen Executive Airport in the week leading up to the race, compared to the same period last year.

During the 2014 race season, the airport recorded 200 total aircraft movements, and a five percent increase in movements from aircraft using the facility that don’t have a base there.

Al Bateen Executive Airport recently underwent an infrastructure upgrade, including the refurbishment of several hangars, the extension of available maintenance, MRO facilities, and the development of high end retail provisions in the VIP lounges.

“We are very excited to welcome thousands of travellers for the finale to the Formula One season.”

Ahmed Al Haddabi, chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports said: “We are very excited to welcome thousands of travellers for the finale to the Formula One season. Al Bateen Executive Airport understands the specific needs of executive jet passengers, and with its fast-on-fast-off processing services and high quality operational, administrative and maintenance facilities, it remains the premiere choice for prominent figures of the local and international community. Following the recent upgrades to the airport’s infrastructure, we are confident we will exceed expectations of new and returning passengers, providing them with the highest possible levels of comfort and service.”

The Al Bateen Executive Airport is only 15 minutes from the Yas Marina racing circuit. Carriers already operating out of the airport include Al Jaber Aviation, Falcon Aviation Services and Rotana Jet.

Al Bateen Executive Airport apron

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Crowds with business aircraft on display at the Abu Dhabi Air Expo.

Falcon Aviation Services will be a diamond sponsor for the Abu Dhabi Air Expo from 25-27 February 2014, which will be held at Al Bateen Executive Airport.

The company will be showcase its fleet of Embraer Lineage 1000, Legacy 600, Gulfstream 450, Bell 412EP, Agusta 109S and Agusta 109SP and Eurocopter EC 130.

Abu Dhabi Air Expo expects to display over 100 aircraft at the show, representing a range of models from ultra-light aircraft to heavy long-range business jets, including a VIP Airbus corporate jet and a DAHER Socata TBM 850 turboprop.

HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, chairman and CEO of Falcon Aviation Services, said: “The result that Falcon Aviation Services received from last year’s Abu Dhabi Air Expo was the motivator behind supporting this important industry event again. Abu Dhabi Air Expo enables FAS to connect with potential partners and demonstrate its offerings to the rapidly growing global general aviation industry, and the Company look forward to working with the Al Bateen Executive Airport’s team again to maximise our attendance.”

The three day event is expected to attract over 13,000 visitors, plus major aviation players from across the GCC, Levant, North Africa, and as far afield as Asia and South Africa. Some 170 aviation related companies will be exhibiting their services at the Air Expo.

Yousif Hassan Al Hammadi, chairman of the organising committee for Abu Dhabi Air Expo, general manager of Al Bateen Executive Airport, said: “Partnerships with organisations like Falcon Aviation Services enables Abu Dhabi Airports to continue to provide a world-class general aviation event that will stimulate the growth of the local, regional and global industry.  The team at Al Bateen Executive Airport looks forward to serving Falcon Aviation Services as it works to expand its footprint and influence in the industry.”

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