Airbus at the ready as VIP market rebounds

Let no one ever underestimate the economic resilience of the Middle East . Last summer some executive charter companies were noting with regret that many of their customers in the region were switching to the airlines for their long-haul travel. Now, less than 12 months later, Airbus is projecting a total annual market of between five and ten large corporate aircraft in the Middle East over the next few years.
Along with Boeing Business Jets, the European manufacturer dominates the global market for VIP airliner conversions. It sold its first VIP aircraft, a converted widebody, to a Middle East customer in the mid-1980s and has since chalked up sales of more than 160 units from its corporate jet family. This comprises the A318 Elite, A319-based ACJ and A320 Prestige – known collectively as the Airbus Corporate Jetliners (ACJs) - and VIP versions of the A330, A340, A350 and A380.
Middle Eastern ACJ customers include Abu Dhabi-based Al Jaber Aviation, Kuwait’s Al Kharafi Group, National Air Services and SAAD Air of Saudi Arabia, Qatar Airways and the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, along with the governments of Oman and the UAE.
The Middle East is now the world’s largest market for large corporate jets, with private customers and governments currently operating more than 200 of them. In March, John Leahy, Airbus’ chief operating officer for customers, revealed the importance of the region to the continuing success of the ACJ line. “We have a strong presence there, with more than 50 Airbus corporate jets in service,” he said. “Our young and growing aircraft family means we are well placed for further business. The region’s oil-based economies continuing to prosper and prospects for growth remain bright.”
The Airbus forecasters see up to ten aircraft a year– the majority in Saudi Arabia - being needed to replace existing aircraft and provide for growth. And they expect the company to win at least half of the market.
Zurich-headquartered VIP charter operator Comlux is Airbus’ biggest corporate jet customer, having ordered a total of ten aircraft – four  A318 Elites, three ACJs, two A320 Prestiges and an A330-200 Prestige. Earlier this year the company expressed its confidence in the region by announcing the creation of Comlux Middle East in partnership with management and consulting specialist MAZ Aviation. Operations will begin with an A318 Elite and an ACJ based in Bahrain, with a new A320 Prestige to join the fleet by the end of the year.
Comlux president Richard Gaona joined the company from Airbus, where he was VP of corporate jet sales - now he’s putting his faith in the product as a customer. “A presence in the Middle East is strategic to our VIP aircraft operations,” he said. “This initiative by MAZ and Comlux follows our earlier agreement for Saudi charter sales and represents a new step in our development in the Middle East.”
Comlux announced its latest order for an Airbus corporate jet last November. The aircraft, the company’s third ACJ and the one destined for the Bahrain operation, is now receiving its VIP interior – an all-Comlux effort designed by the Zurich-based Creatives arm and being installed by Comlux Completions USA in Indianapolis. Middle Eastern travellers will thus be among the first to benefit from a spread of capabilities that is unusual in the industry.   
This Indianapolis investment could lead to Comlux providing an interior for one of its prime competitors in the Middle East. Al Jaber Aviation (AJA) based at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi. AJA currently operates a pair of Embraer Legacy 600 13-seat business jets and has an Airbus A318 Elite in the hands of Lufthansa Technik-owned Bizjet International in Tulsa for completion and delivery in the middle of this year. It plans to acquire a further three Elites and a pair of ACJs, along with a total of eight Embraer 450 and 500 light jets and five 19-seat Embraer Lineage 1000s.
 The company has an in-house design team that has already come up with interiors for the Legacies, Lineages and Elites. “Now we’ve started work on the ACJ design,” said chief operating officer Dr Mark Pierotti. “It will be the culmination of the process we started with the smaller types.”
Al Jaber’s A318 Elite interior features 19 armchair-style and a private bedroom. “We’re deciding now on what to put into the ACJs,” said Pierotti. “How many seats do we need? What sort of inflight entertainment and passenger communications? Should we add a shower? In the end we want something that’s cutting-edge and appealing to our customers, while also being completely cost-effective”.

Over the last couple of years much of the talk about the top end of the Airbus corporate jet range has tended to focus on the fabulous prospect of a VIP A380. Saudi Prince Alwaleed became the first to order one in 2007 and since then speculation has swirled about the identity of the chosen completions provider.

And although the A350 long-haul twinjet isn’t scheduled make its first flight until 2012 it has already attracted orders from customers planning to operate it in a VIP configuration. MAZ Aviationhas signed up for six aircraft. The deal is the largest ever single commitment for Airbus corporate jets. “The kind of private customer who buys a VIP widebody wants the very best, and that’s exactly what they will get with the Airbus A350 Prestige,” said MAZ Aviation chairman Mohammed Al Zeer. “With more cabin space, more range and a more modern design, the A350 is the VIP widebody of the future.”