Ralph Eisenschmid CEO of MENA Aerospace reckons that his company will grow by at least 40% over the next year. “We have to,” he said, “the region as a whole will grow by 15-20%, and we have to stay ahead of the game”.
A firework-blasting aerobatic duo produced a spectacular finale to the first day of the Bahrain International Air Show last night as thousands of people watched them blaze a trail across the night sky above Sakhir Air Base.
The planned appearance of the Saudi Hawks display team at Bahrain has been cancelled following injuries to two of its pilots in non-fatal training accidents.
Aviation in independent Bahrain began with a small helicopter unit that formed part of Bahrain Public Security (the former Bahrain State Police), from which today's Police Aviation is directly descended.
Day 2 of the Bahrain Airshow with news of a milestone deal in civil aviation operations, deals in training, a close look at the Royal Bahrain Airforce F-16 operations and we hear about the executive aviation market
MENA Aerospace Enterprises has awarded Hafeera Contracting a contract to carry out all civil works on its new general aviation and hangar complex at Bahrain International Airport (BIA).
Comlux Middle East believes the SBJ, the VIP version of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner, will be a winner – so much so that president Richard Gaona (pictured) is willing to take an earlier delivery position rather than wait in line for his scheduled 2014 slot.
Bombardier comes to the show bringing the passenger cabin and cockpit demonstrators of its CSeries twinjet and a trio of executive jets, expressing its confidence in strong market growth in the region.
SA MENA Avionics, a subsidiary of MENA Aerospace Enterprises has obtained a certificate of approval from the Saudi Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation paving the way for expansion into the country.
Dassault's Rafale and Eurofighter's Typhoon briefly sat side-by-side in the static display here at the show, with a US Navy Boeing Super Hornet close by.
Bahrain's GCC ally the UAE is strongly supporting BIAS. The UAE Air Force and Air Defence has dispatched its new Al Fursan aerobatic team with its seven Aermacchi MB339NATs (plus two spares), as well as a quartet of fighters.
At the show the Royal Bahraini Air Force is taking the opportunity to show off its helicopter types, including examples of the Agusta Bell AB212 (the Huey of Vietnam war fame), the MBB Bo 105, the new Sikorsky UH-60M, and the Bell AH-1 Cobra gunship (pictured).
Bahrain's aspirations to once again be a driving force in the region's aviation industry is given credence by the country's major training organisation.
The latest simulator to join the GAA fleet is the Embraer 170/190. While the regional jet is currently only seeing service in Bahrain with Gulf Air and in Muscat with Oman Air, GAA chief executive Tim Shattock believes there is great potential.
Lebanese authorities have blamed pilot error for the 2010 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 in a fierce thunderstorm, that went down minutes after takeoff from Beirut almost two years ago.
Airbus has increased the average list prices of its aircraft by 3.9 per cent, except for the A320neo Family price which rises by an average of 6.1 per cent. The new pricing is effective from January 1st 2012.
A senior aviation security inspector from Qatar has attended a Boeing “Educators to Space Camp” programme, held in Huntsville, Alabama - a first for the Gulf country.
