Royal Jet and Arabasco alliance creates major new force for Saudi Arabian elite charter market
The UAE's Royal Jet and Saudi Arabia's Arabasco have today announced a commercial and operational alliance that they say could change the face of elite services within Saudi Arabia
The agreement was signed by Royal Jet President & CEO Shane O’Hare and Arabasco President & CEO Ret. Brig. General Mohamed Al Shablan.
Royal Jet will now operate under the Arabasco AOC (Aircraft Operators Certificate) and will leverage the extensive experience and expertise of both parties in luxury private jet travel to address the regional and global executive travel needs of Saudi Arabia.
Under the terms of the agreement, UAE-based Royal Jet will be positioning a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) and a Gulfstream 300 at ARABASCO’s key hubs in Jeddah and Riyadh to better serve the Saudi market, together with crew, full operations team and all necessary supporting logistics.
Based in Saudi Arabia, ARABASCO has been the premiere Fixed Based Operations (FBO) and maintenance facility company in the kingdom, offering a variety of aircraft maintenance, management and ground handling services to private, VIP and business jets.
From its private terminals within the Kingdom, Arabasco and Royal Jet will now offer private jet charter, as well as domestic and international travel from Saudi Arabia, using the BBJ and Gulfstream 300 which can comfortably accommodate 30 and 12 passengers respectively, to cities like London, Moscow, Bangkok, as well as other business and leisure hubs in the region.
Achieving growth in a key regional market such as Saudi Arabia is an important focus of Royal Jet’s expansion strategy, said Royal Jet Chairman, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan. “Increasing Royal Jet’s presence in the region was part of our strategic five-year plan and this alliance will help us consolidate our position. Saudi Arabia is the single largest and most mature private jet market in the region, and there are significant benefits that are opening up here, especially when one enters the market with an established brand and product offering.”
Sheikh Hamdan added: “This is a market where we hope to establish a significant presence, and this agreement is an important step in that direction. By leveraging our expertise and experience, we will be able to achieve a competitive edge and capture a substantial share of this highly lucrative market.”
General Al Shablan said he shares Royal Jet’s optimism, noting that business travel should either maintain or increase current frequency and flight capacity. “There will always be a market for premium jet services especially in Saudi Arabia. Our business comes from the upmarket segment, which has maintained sufficient levels of liquidity and will never compromise on the luxurious standards of business travel that they have been accustomed to,” he ended.
Royal Jet is the world's largest BBJ operator with 10 aircraft in the fleet. "With a larger capacity of as much as 30 guests in various cabin configurations in the BBJ, the aircraft will comfortably and reasonably address greater demand as the alliance grows in strength and market share in the next couple of months. We expect 2009 to be challenging, but nonetheless a fruitful year for the private jet service market, especially in Saudi Arabia,” said CEO O’ Hare.