Seabird Aviation Jordan has been granted the exclusive assembly, supply and support of the Jabiru range of light aircraft in the Middle East and North Africa.
Seabird chairman Alec Mackenzie revealed the deal on Monday at Farnborough. The company is currently building its first Jabiru J400, which is due for delivery in the coming weeks.
Mackenzie believes the large number of students coming through training institutes in Jordan represents a good market opportunity for Jabiru aircraft.
"Of the thousands of students, a good 10% are fairly wealthy and would like their own aircraft. Something like a Jabiru, which is a very competent light aircraft in an affordable price bracket, is probably half the price of the sports cars they're driving around," he said.
"The Middle East is not yet open to general aviation but increasingly there's an expectation that people want to own aircraft and be able to travel within their own countries, if not cross national borders.
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"We think that by launching the J400 at this stage, we could be hitting a market just as it starts to open up."
Seabird Aviation Jordan can deliver either aircraft kits for private users to build themselves or build and deliver an aircraft that's fully certificated and ready to fly. A formal launch is scheduled for the end of July.
Source: Flight Daily News
