Saudia Private Aviation (SPA), the private aircraft charter and management arm of flag carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA), has increased its managed fleet to 35 aircraft, with two Boeing BBJs expected to join the fleet early next year. PrivatAir Saudi Arabia, the local subsidiary of aircraft charter and management group PrivatAir Switzerland, purchased a 30-percent stake in SPA last year, with a mandate to assist with fleet renewal.

SPA’s owned fleet remains at 10 aircraft today—four Dassault Falcon 7Xs and six Hawker 400XPs—and all are available for charter, as are three from the 35 aircraft under management. The company also offers a block-charter program.

In June, SPA launched the new Albayraq all-business-class shuttle service connecting the Saudi capital Riyadh with Jeddah on the country’s west coast. This provides six round-trip flights each day in three 24-seat Airbus ACJ319s. According to SPA general manager for flight operations Capt. Hamza Ghouth, the new service is proving more successful than previous attempts at similar services since it is able to offer direct online booking for the first time.

“The bulk of our operations, or around 80 percent, are domestic, although we do have ultra-long-range aircraft,” Ghouth told AIN at MEBAA 2016 in Dubai.

Significantly, SPA also operates four FBOs at Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Medina. “We operate in all 28 airports in the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia], including air force bases. We have a presence at 24 regional airports. Most airports have VIP terminals that belong to the civil aviation authority. Management is done by GACA. We gain access when needed,” Ghouth said.

The company can also dispatch handling teams to provide ground support at almost any regional airport. Several regional airports are undergoing privatization, with Medinah now privately run. Riyadh Airport is also being expanded.

Regulatory Shake-up

As part of wide-ranging reforms of the Saudi economy—aimed at making it more competitive and less reliant on oil revenues—Suleiman Al Hamdan, the country’s transport minister and head of the civil aviation authority, appears to be shaking up the regulatory structure for the aviation industry. The privately expressed hope of foreign business aviation companies is that this will result in more open access for operators. “He has a very strong will. He has already made many changes. But we still have a lot of challenges to meet to reach our targets,” said Ghouth.

Contrary to some reports that all operators are now expected to operate under Part 135 commercial rules, Ghouth claimed that Part 91 private rules have not been eliminated in Saudi Arabia. He indicated that some larger aircraft are still permitted to remain under Part 91 requirements.

Ghouth is bullish about Saudi’s economic prospects despite the low price of oil. “There is a good deal of growth expected in the coming years in line with the development of infrastructure. We cannot expand aviation without having the proper infrastructure to support it—from the economy and safety to airport facilities.”

Addressing questions of unfair fuel subsidies received by the Saudi Arabian Airlines group, he said that the size of the company puts it in an advantageous position. “The amount of fuel we buy, it’s natural that we receive a good discount,” he said, underlining the large average size of the mostly widebody aircraft in the SAA fleet.

He said that SPA uses its parent company’s in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul subsidiary Saudi Arabian Engineering Industries, but added that SPA is “looking into going into the business of maintaining business jets” with an international joint-venture partner. He would not elaborate, but said that SPA has just under an acre of land to develop at Jeddah Airport.

“It’s an international, non-OEM partner that we are looking at. Due diligence has been done on the project. We are starting to talk details, but final agreement has not been reached,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ghouth said rationalization of the Saudi Arabian business aircraft fleet is continuing. Aircraft owned or operated by Saudi individuals normally receive annual block landing permits rather than needing approval on a case-by-case basis. He argued that forcing Saudi owners to bring aircraft “onshore” could be counterproductive, as they would stay abroad, where many are now registered offshore. “This would cause them to park outside. Once GACA [civil aviation authority] matures, I think more [owners] will park [aircraft] inside the Kingdom.”