Identifying Expansion Opportunities in the Middle East

Sales of aircraft at this week's Dubai Airshow have already exceeded $75 billion and are a fresh indicator of business aviation's fast-paced growth in the Middle East.

"Interest in Boeing Business Jets and VIP models continues to grow in the Middle East, and, in fact, 29 percent of our customer reside there, followed by 26 percent in North America and 23 percent in Europe," says Vicki Ray, a Boeing spokeswoman.

Boeing has picked up on a trend toward larger business jets in the region, she adds.

How are other general aviation organizations capitalizing on the Middle East boon?

Jet Aviation -- which operates FBOs in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and in Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- recently announced that Jetcraft Trading, its brand new aircraft sales and acquisition arm, is now open for business at the Dubai FBO.

World Fuel Services (WFS), which just announced an agreement to acquire AVCARD, is seeking alliances in the region, says Gordon Berturelli, senior vice president of international business development for WFS.

"We are currently working with government-operated aircraft and royal flight departments looking for key partners," Berturelli adds.

Also, WFS will continue to work with Jet Aviation, which continues to grow its fleet of managed aircraft in the Middle East, he adds.

Bombardier, which established a regional sales headquarters in Dubai more than 10 years ago, added a Skyjet International regional office in recent years. Skyjet is allied with regional charter providers and offers access to more than 930 business jets, according to Danielle Boudreau, a spokeswoman with Bombardier Business Aircraft.