Contributor - Middle East

Peter Shaw-Smith

Dassault continues to invest in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region to improve and expand its product support network, its leading Middle East-based official said in the run-up to the NBAA Convention.

 


“We have opened a new engineering office in Cairo to support the growing number of Falcons operating in the [Middle East] region. Falcon customers have access to an authorized service center, spares distribution center, and regional sales office in Dubai, and an authorized service center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,” Renaud Cloatre, Middle East regional director for Dassault Falcon, told AIN&nbsp;in September.

 


In January, Dassault Aviation announced its acquisition of the worldwide maintenance activities of ExecuJet, a Luxaviation subsidiary. “Dassault focuses on maintaining and increasing market share in the kingdom by proactively supporting customers in Saudi Arabia, providing customer services and technical support, including maintenance, repair, and overhaul, following the acquisition of ExecuJet’s MRO business, which will provide regional support from the facility in Dubai,” Cloatre&nbsp;said.

 


“We are looking ahead to an improving market in the next [six] months…, for new aircraft sales with significant aircraft replacement opportunities.” Dassault had its Falcon 8X demonstrator on display at the Saudi Airshow at Al Thumamah Airport, Riyadh, in March, with the aircraft turning heads on its departure. “The Falcon 8X flagship is now in its third year in service in the Middle East,” he said.

 


According to JetNet Evolution data provided to AIN last year, there were eight Falcons in the Saudi business aviation fleet: one 900EX, two 900s, two 7Xs, and three 2000s. “In addition to this list, there are&nbsp;also a significant number of other Falcons based outside the Kingdom,” he said.

 


“Large-cabin Falcons account for nearly one-third of the 75 Falcons operating in the Middle East, and for almost half of new Falcon deliveries. Falcon business jets, including the new Falcon 8X trijet and the Falcon 6X, are designed to meet this growing demand for large-cabin aircraft—both are receiving very positive feedback, and orders, from the region,” Cloatre said.

 


Dassault’s ultra-widebody Falcon 6X, scheduled to enter service in 2022, appears to have good Middle East prospects. With a range of 5,500 nm (10,186 km), the aircraft has already received a significant number of orders from the Middle East, according to Cloatre.

 


“Development of the 6X has entered the detail design phase and the program is on track for initial deliveries in 2022,” he said. “The Falcon 6X has the largest cross-section in the industry, an outstandingly quiet cabin and numerous innovations, including a new generation of digital flight controls, and represents the ultimate example of what technology can deliver in terms of comfort and safety.”

 


Bombardier appears set to challenge the recent dominance of the Middle East bizjet market by rival Gulfstream&nbsp;with the Global 7500. (Gulfstream's position&nbsp;was underlined in July when Qatar Executive increased the size of its total Gulfstream order book to 48 aircraft.)

 


“The business aviation market in Saudi Arabia, which will continue to grow, remains an important one for Bombardier Business Aircraft,” Matthew Nicholls, senior advisor of&nbsp;communications and public affairs for&nbsp;Bombardier Business Aircraft, told AIN.

 


“With the entry-into-service of the flagship Global 7500, and the recently certified Global 5500 and Global 6500 aircraft [both&nbsp;received Transport Canada certification in late September], Bombardier has positioned itself with the most sought-after products in business aviation, ideally suited for the needs of customers in Saudi Arabia.”

 


He said strong appetite for the Global 7500 exists in the Kingdom. “The Global 7500, and other aircraft in the Global family, perfectly align with the needs of customers in the Middle East, as cities in the region and destinations in key European financial markets are separated by large distances.”

 


JetNet Evolution said last year there were eight Challengers and six Globals operating in Saudi Arabia. “Bombardier doesn’t provide a breakdown of its fleet by country, but we have a solid presence in the Middle East,” he said. “Since 2010, there have been 144 business jet deliveries in the Middle East, 38 of which were from Bombardier, representing a market share of 26 percent.”

 


In line with King Salman’s 2030 Vision for Saudi Arabia in creating a diversified economy that doesn’t fully depend on oil, business aviation is one sector that is rapidly expanding, Nicholls said. There are more than 100 business jets operating in the region and a large portion of these are based in Saudi Arabia. The government is acknowledging the importance of this sector and working to develop the aviation infrastructure.

 


“For Bombardier, the Saudi market is one of the most important and promising markets in the region, and with the development of the long-range Global 5500, Global 6500, and Global 7500, it means customers here will benefit from the incomparable comfort and range to connect the Saudi business community to the world,” he said.

 


“Saudi Arabia is opening its doors to encourage people to visit and see what the Saudi market has to offer, be it business or leisure opportunities. This will have a very positive effect on the overall Saudi market.”

 


Embraer is keen to capitalize on the Praetor opportunity in the kingdom in the next 12 months. “This year has been stable for Embraer [in the Middle East], and we take the view that there will be a small recovery in 2020, with oil prices stabilizing and the Saudi economy recovering,” a Europe-based Embraer spokesman told AIN. “We have seen good interest in the Praetor variants, driven particularly by the aircraft's capability to fly nonstop from Jeddah or Riyadh to London.

 


Gulfstream has appointed the Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia-based Zedan Group its commercial and governmental sales representative in the region. According to its website, the Zedan Group has interests in Saudi Arabia across operating companies, oil, gas, and petrochemicals, infrastructure, industrial trading, maritime and investments. Its primary focus is “to serve the growing requirements of infrastructural developments within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

 


“Saudi Arabia has been an important market for Gulfstream since the 1960s and continues to be a strong market today,” a Gulfstream spokesperson told AIN. “Of the nearly 100 Gulfstream aircraft based in the Middle East, more than 40 of them are based in Saudi Arabia, and we are optimistic about sales in the region.”

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