VVIP charter operator Royal Jet is planning to add its third fixed-base operation to its portfolio this year and is also eyeing three other possible destinations, which currently have little or no aircraft and passenger handling provision.
The Abu Dhabi-headquartered operator established its first FBO outside its home base last year. The new facility at Seychelles International airport is a partnership with the country’s flag carrier, Air Seychelles – 40% owned by Abu Dhabi’s national airline, Etihad Airways.
“We are now fully up and running,’ says Royal Jet chief executive Patrick Gordon.
He says the company’s strategy is to establish an FBO presence at destinations popular with its growing customer base, but where there is little or no handling service available. He will not be drawn on which destinations it is evaluating, however, but has ruled out Europe, saying this market is already very competitive and crowded.
“It will be in one of the many countries that we currently fly to,” he says.
Royal Jet made 2,600 flights in 2014 – around 200 more than the previous year and demand for its 11-strong VIP fleet continues to grow.
The company is the largest operator of Boeing Business Jets in the world, with six of the VIP airliners in service and two new models scheduled for delivery to an unnamed completion centre in September and December this year.
Their acquisition is part of a $700 million spending commitment by Royal Jet on new business jets, with the ambition to almost double its fleet from 11 to 20 aircraft by 2020. “This includes managed aircraft,” Gordon says. Royal Jet operates a 737 freighter on behalf of its owners and will add another privately owned BBJ to its managed fleet shortly.
Source: Flight International
