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ACJ Forecasts Strong Growth At Dubai Ahead On Renewal Wave
DUBAI—Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) expects significant growth for its in-service fleet in the Middle East region in the next several years, as operators look to replace previous generation aircraft.
Its record-setting sales in 2024 were due in part to that trend, explains ACJ president Chadi Saade at the Dubai Airshow. ACJ recorded 17 orders and commitments last year.
“In the Middle East and Africa there are around 1,200 aircraft in service, including 70 ACJs,” Saade says. “Most of these are over 15 years old,” he adds, forecasting a “great wave” of replacement demand to come.
As such, Airbus projects its total number of ACJs in the Middle East and Africa to grow by roughly 20% over the next 3-5 years. “There is a new renewal wave starting,” Saade says.
Thus far in 2025, ACJ has six orders: four single-aisles and two A350s, the latter a model Saade describes as seeing great momentum.
“The year is not over yet,” he adds. “We’re still hoping to get some more orders secured.”
Supporting the ACJ fleet is a network of five service providers across seven different locations—a number to grow as an existing partnership with AMAC Aerospace expands to provide services and solutions to customers in a new location in Turkey.
The facility in Bodrum, Turkey, will offer ACJ line and base maintenance, becoming the eighth service center globally; AMAC's site in Basel, Switzerland, is also in the network.
Signing the deal on board the AMAC-completed Acropolis ACJ at the Dubai Airshow, Saade says, “We have support in the Middle East and Asia, through Jet Aviation in Dubai and Singapore, but this will offer service closer to Istanbul and the former CIS counties.
“From our customer feedback, we knew there was a need to have someone closer to that area, but we don’t partner with just anyone. There is a very strict process to become part of the service center network, which takes around 12 months. The center must have experience in ACJ and its products; we perform an audit to ensure that they fulfill all the quality and safety requirements and all the processes that Airbus imposes on itself.”
Saade adds that the company will focus on developing the service network in Asia next year, to support the strong market in the region.
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