Royal Jet Reports 15% Increase in VIP Charter Business

Abu Dhabi-based Royal Jet has reported a major increase in charter bookings over the summer period as the private aviation industry in the region appears to be pulling out of the worldwide economic downturn.

The international luxury executive flight services company, chaired by H.E. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, received a 15% rise in bookings compared to the same period last year.

“We are finding that there is a trend for our guests to make their bookings much later than what they used to, often leaving this to within two to four days of when they wish to travel,” said Royal Jet’s President and CEO Shane O’Hare. “We are finding that within the GCC there is strong demand – with a steady stream of bookings from Qatar and, especially, Saudi Arabia, where our recent alliance with ARABASCO has led to a surge of interest from the Kingdom.”

“In part, this is also down to our new pricing policy that we introduced a few months ago within the Gulf region whereby the previous way we calculated our prices was based on where the actual aircraft originated from, whereas now we price the charter from where the guests commence their flight. This has led to dramatic reductions in charter rates – sometimes by as much as 20%.”

Shane O’Hare also confirmed that there has been an excellent response to the introduction of Royal Jet’s own charter brokerage service, based in Dubai, which started operations six months ago. He said that Royal Jet’s strategy has been one of diversification into a number of different service offerings which has protected the company from the worst of the economic turbulence.

“The brokerage service is a key aspect of Royal Jet’s growth strategy and is in line with the company’s policy of increasing diversification into a range of complementary activities which also include FBO [Fixed Base Operations] facilities, an aircraft management and acquisition consultancy, medical evacuation services and the core aircraft charter business,” he said. “The outlook for the coming months is looking extremely positive and fully validates our business strategy of diversification and moving into new markets across the region.”

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