While there is no shortage of business aviation access to the Chicago area—with airports such as Aurora Municipal, DuPage, Chicago Executive, Midway and O’Hare International—Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY) is making great strides to improve its attractiveness to corporate aircraft customers.

Located just across the state line in Gary, Ind., the airport (Booth 4335) last year completed a $174 million runway expansion that was more than 15 years in the making and required the relocation of a major railway line. “Probably the most significant thing has been the extra 1,800 foot expansion to the runway,” assistant airport manager Hank Mook told AIN.

“We went from 7,000 feet to almost 8,900 feet, which now gives us the capability to go international, to go longer distances and have larger aircraft arrivals. This benefits not only the airport, but also the FBOs,” he added. Since the expansion, the airport, which situated in Class D airspace separate from the congestion of O’Hare and Midway, has noted a 15-percent increase in traffic.

That traffic should get another boost next year with the opening of a new $1.2 million stand-alone U.S. Customs facility. “There are no solely general aviation Customs facilities in the Chicagoland area,” noted Mook, adding that in the past Customs agents would come from Midway to process arrivals. Currently, international flights to the airport must clear at other airports.

The airport has fuel flowage of approximately 2.5 million gallons a year and, due to the runway improvement, that number is growing. It is also in the process of converting its aprons from asphalt to concrete to accommodate weights of larger aircraft. A resurfacing of the main runway is also on tap for next year.

GYY is currently home to 117 based aircraft, approximately 60 of them turbine-powered, a number Mook said has increased since the runway lengthening. To accommodate that increase both service providers, B.Coleman Aviation and Gary Jet Center have expanded.

B.Coleman (Booth 2239) recently enlarged its leasehold by an additional 12 acres, giving it 14 now in total. Opened in 2014, the facility has a 6,000-sq-ft terminal with another 8,000 sq ft of office space, as well as an 18,000-sq-ft hangar capable of sheltering aircraft up to a G550. Citing a shortage of hangar space in the Chicago area, the company plans to break ground next spring on a new $5 million, 40,000-sq-ft hangar that can accommodate the latest ultra-long-range business jets, according to B.Coleman president John Girzadas. He plans to offer the part of the remaining space for build-to-suit corporate hangars.

Girzadas noted that during last week’s World Series games in Chicago, the airport handled a large volume of overflow traffic from Midway Airport, due to its location just 35 minutes from downtown. “Once we get those customers, they tend to stay with us because they don’t really realize that we’re there,” he told AIN. Another popular selling point is the ease of access to light rail directly into the city. A station is located just off the airport property.

Gary Jet Center (Booth 2207) last year added a 40,000-sq-ft LEED-certified hangar and was recently approved to build a new terminal attached to it, construction of which should begin in the spring.

All those improvements will serve to increase GYY’s prominence in the region’s business aviation market. “A lot of people think that the runway project sort of spurred it, and it did, but kudos to our partners B.Coleman and Gary Jet Center and our other tenants who are investing the money in the growth of the airport,” said Mook.

Global flight support provider Universal Weather & Aviation (Booth 2611) has expanded its Latin American ground-handling network with the opening of Universal Aviation Dominican Republic, it announced this week at NBAA 2016. Based at the executive aviation terminal at La Romana International Airport (MDLR), the location is Universal’s 18th in the region and 65th worldwide.

“The Dominican Republic has a fast-growing economy and is an increasingly popular destination for general aviation, both business and tourism, with a strong base of regional traffic in the Caribbean,” said Adolfo Aragon, Universal’s senior vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean. “We have an outstanding local team at MDLR, with many years of experience in the country, allowing us to facilitate difficult, last-minute requests seamlessly.”

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based service provider W Aviation (Booth 913) is on hand at NBAA 2016 to detail the company’s current expansion project at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE). Scheduled for completion by the end of next year, the 8.5-acre addition includes a pair of 20,000-sq-ft hangars, with 5,500 sq ft of office and shop space, 155,000 sq ft of new apron and a 24,000-sq-ft terminal. The company is currently accepting leases in advance of the opening.

At its booth, the company is also introducing the staff of W Aviacion, its new facility at Venezuela’s Maiquetia International Airport. Opened last year, the location offers a modern passenger lobby, flight-planning area, pilot lounge and line support. W will introduce a new International Family FBO Network Connection Program to operators who use both facilities, and explain the benefits of flying direct to FXE, which now offers expanded U.S. Customs hours and a Global Entry kiosk.

“We are proud to be growing our network of FBOs internationally and look forward to our continued growth also at Fort Lauderdale with the expansion of our existing FBO campus,” said company vice president Leonel Leon. “It is vital to provide our transient and based customers with the best in all of our aviation services and facilities throughout all of our business lines. We are confident that our new facilities and premium service programs will provide luxury experiences for all visitors who use us as the entryway into South Florida and in Maiquetia.”

Banyan Air Service (Booth 2207, 4750) is celebrating its conquest south of the border at NBAA 2016. It has received certification from Mexico’s Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC) to perform maintenance and avionics services on Mexican-registered Beechjet, Challenger, Citation, Falcon, Hawker, HondaJet, King Air, Kodiak, Learjet, Piaggio and Pilatus airplanes. Banyan already holds FAA maintenance certificates and civilian aviation approvals from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, EASA, Paraguay and Venezuela.

On November 30, Banyan is hosting a “Tapas on the Tarmac” night to celebrate the junction of art and aviation, helping to kick off Miami’s Art Basel event. A silent and live auction will benefit 4KIDS of South Florida.

TNA Aviation Technologies (Booth 877) this week at NBAA 2016 is showcasing its smart semi-robotic tugs, which it said can move aircraft more efficiently, faster, safer and more easily than conventional tugs. TNA’s equipment can also create up to 40 percent more usable hangar and apron space, according to the company.

Florida-based TNA is North American distributor for TugMaxxe and FlyerTruck tugs, which are made in Germany. The more than one dozen tug models the company offers range in towing capacity from 4,400 pounds (TugMaxxe 1.0) to 22,000 pounds (FlyerTruck Towbarless C-250-1000). More than 3,000 of its tugs have been sold since the manufacturer was established in 1953.

With the opening of a new U.S. Customs and Immigration facility in April, Florida Keys International Airport (MTH) has seen an increase in traffic, according to Marathon Jet Center, the half of the FBO provider that services turbine-powered aircraft. Once the traditional high season begins after Thanksgiving, the company expects business to improve even more.

Since the return of customs service at MTH for the first time in nearly three decades, the FBO has seen approximately 100 international arrivals, with clearance averaging 15 minutes, including fueling. It currently offers concierge services and on-site car rentals, and its FBO terminal has a crew lounge and passenger lobby.

The company plans to enhance its facility next year with the opening of a new 12,000-sq-ft hangar and improvements to the terminal, which will expand office spaceand add a pilot snooze room, flight-planning room, kitchen, conference rooms, showers and individual work stations.

Private equity firm The Sterling Group, which launched itself into the FBO consolidation arena in September with the purchase of Florida’s Destin Jet Center, has unveiled the name of its new aviation services chain and acquired its second location. The Lynx FBO Network as it is now known is backed by Sterling, a middle-market investment fund that manages more than $2.4 billion in assets. Its latest purchase, announced earlier this week, is Aurora Jet Center, one of two service providers at Aurora State Airport, which serves the metropolitan Portland, Oregon area.

The 48-year-old, full-service facility offers aircraft sales, charter and management, Cessna-authorized maintenance and flight instruction. “Aurora Jet Center is the primary provider on the airfield and has been growing substantially over the past several years,” noted former Trajen and Landmark Aviation executives Chad Farischon and Tyson Goetz, who head up the buy-and-build venture. “It is an exceptional addition to our new network.”

“The first two locations, both primary providers at their respective airports, are perfect representations of our vision for the Lynx network,” added industry veteran and Sterling partner Greg Elliott. “We are just getting started.”

Sonoma Jet Center, one of two aviation services providers at California’s Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, has completed construction on new 21,000-sq-ft hangar for corporate aircraft.. Capable of sheltering the latest ultra-long-range business jets, the addition brings available hangar space at the Signature Select location to 30,000 sq ft. The new building, adjacent to the existing FBO, includes office and workshop space, a fullyequipped gym with showers, meeting spaces and lounge areas as well as direct roadside access and a gate to accommodate rampside vehicle access.

Demand for hangar space is growing in the San Francisco Bay area. “Many business jet clients…have asked for more hangar space with us,” said company president Josh Hochberg. “Building a new corporate hangar was simply the next logical step in expanding the range of services we can offer.”

The facility recently achieved certification under the International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH), becomingthe first FBO in Northern California to achieve that distinction. It has also introduced a professional aircraft detailing division offering services including exterior wash and wax, leather and carpet cleaning, bright work, and de-ice boot strip and seal.

Private equity firm The Sterling Group, which launched itself into the FBO consolidation arena in September with the purchase of Florida’s Destin Jet Center, has unveiled the name of its new aviation services chain and acquired its second location. The Lynx FBO Network, as it is now known, is backed by Sterling, a middle-market investment fund that manages more than $2.4 billion in assets. Its latest purchase, announced earlier this week, is Aurora Jet Center, one of three service providers at Aurora State Airport, which serves the metropolitan Portland, Oregon area.

The Avfuel-branded facility has access to approximately 70,000 sq ft of hangar space, capable of sheltering aircraft up to a Gulfstream G650. “Aurora Jet Center is the primary provider on the airfield and has been growing substantially over the past several years,” noted former Trajen and Landmark Aviation executives Chad Farischon and Tyson Goetz, who head the buy-and-build venture. “It is an exceptional addition to our new network.”

“Our first two locations, both primary providers at their respective airports, are perfect representations of our vision for the Lynx network,” added industry veteran and Sterling partner Greg Elliott. “We are just getting started.”

On Saturday, the third annual Turkeys Take Flight operation saw a vintage Douglas DC-3 deliver 250 turkeys to the Immokalee (Florida) Regional Airport. They were then distributed to families in need by the Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA). The aircraft previously flew missions in World War II and delivered supplies as part of the Berlin Airlift.

The DC-3 departed Jetscape FBO at Fort Lauderdale International Airport along with three smaller airplanes that carried volunteers from W Aviation FBO at Fort Lauderdale Executive. A majority of the volunteers were members of the Rotary Club of Downtown Fort Lauderdale, as well as Flightline Drug Testing, Publix and Florida Air Cargo.

There were 70 families in need at the RCMA’s Immokalee Community School. This is in addition to other families who were served by RCMA’s child-care operations. Flightline’s Tom Powers said that the community is also trying to give back to migrant families. Besides the delivery of the Thanksgiving feasts, the Collier County Airport Authority and the Immokalee fire department authorized an honorary water arc spray from local fire trucks.

Ross Aviation, the Colorado-based service provider chain backed by KSC Capital Partners, a private-equity firm specializing in luxury leisure and travel companies, has completed its acquisition of AirFlite, one of several service providers at California’s Long Beach Airport/Daugherty Field. AirFlite was the top-scoring FBO in AIN’s Annual FBO Survey for the past three years and a perennial top finisher for much of its more than quarter century of existence.

Previously owned by auto manufacturer Toyota, the facility at the Los Angeles-area airport consists of a four-story terminal with pilots' lounge, conference rooms, VIP lounge, flight-planning room, passenger atrium lobby, crew rest area, business center, and 132,000 sq ft of hangar space.

“We are excited about completing the purchase of the AirFlite FBO from Toyota Motor Sales,” said Ross Aviation CEO Jeff Ross. He told AIN that his company was interested in retaining the FBOs name, but Toyota decided not to include it in the sale.

The purchase marks the first for the company after the initial six that make up the reconstituted chain.

With private aviation traffic to Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao International Airports increasing by 12 percent so far this year, Shanghai Hawker Pacific, which operates FBOs at both airports, has partnered with the airport authorities to establish the first high-density business aircraft parking in the city’s history. The team recently established 22 parking slots at Pudong, while Hongqiao—home to the Shanghai Hawker Pacific Business Aviation Service Centre’s main FBO—has received an additional nine high-density parking slots.

The additions have had an immediate result, according to the service provider. “The success of the new-high density parking is evident in our September results,” said Carey Matthews, the location’s general manager, noting traffic to the FBO increased 19 percent year-over-year. “The Shanghai airport authority's outstanding support for business aviation in China has been instrumental to recent growth.”

At Hongqiao, tie-downs were added on underutilized ramp space to create the new spots. At Pudong, six parking stands capable of accommodating aircraft as large as a Boeing 747 were converted to create the 22 high-density business jet parking spots.

To accommodate the recent increase in traffic, the FBO has doubled the number of tugs at both airports. The company also increased its staffing by 35 percent to accommodate the 24/7 coverage required at Pudong.

Maverick Air Center, one of two FBOs at South Dakota’s Joe Foss Field Airport, has completed a $3.3 million expansion project at the Sioux Falls gateway, including a new 30,000-sq-ft hangar, bringing the facility up to 47,000 sq ft of aircraft storage space. The six-month project also added another 50,000 gallons of jet-A storage to the fuel farm at the Shell-branded location, more than doubling its capacity.

Maverick, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, also offers a 5,000-sq-ft terminal with a pilots' lounge, conference room, customer lounge and flight-planning room. The additional space and fuel storage has allowed the company to partner with Minnesota-based aircraft charter, management and maintenance provider Charter First, which will now base three of its aircraft at the Maverick facility, rather than have to reposition them there as has in the past. In addition, the IS-BAO-audited company will provide King Air and Cessna Citation maintenance.

With all 14 of its locations having achieved accreditation under the International Business Aviation Council’s (IBAC) International Standard for Business Aviation Handling (IS-BAH) audit, TAC Air became the first FBO chain to claim this distinction. The process requires a complete review of an individual location’s safety management systems, emergency procedures, organizational structure, security procedures, training protocols and operations.

“The International Business Aviation Council congratulates the entire TAC Air team in demonstrating such a strong commitment to building and maintaining a culture based on safety management and risk mitigation,” said Terry Yeomans, IBAC’s IS-BAH program director. Registration to IS-BAH is granted to those establishments that demonstrate conformity to the industry’s best practices through an external audit.

“We’d rather be better than lucky,” said Christian Sasfai, TAC Air’s vice president and COO. “As we continue to grow our network, it becomes increasingly important to formalize our process for continuous improvement and build upon the safety culture already in place.”

Recently launched online charter booking platform Stratajet has announced a new alliance with FBO chain operator Million Air. Under the agreement, Stratajet’s customers can designate Million Air’s 23 U.S. locations as their FBO of choice when booking a trip. Once clients finalize the itinerary and select the aircraft, they can customize the trip even further. The site’s customer service team can help tailor all aspects of the trip to suit passenger preferences.

“Stratajet is continuing to broaden the range of services available to its customers,” said founder and CEO Johnny Nicol. “We are delighted to have Million Air’s FBOs available through our platform as an extension of our efforts to remove the hassle of private jet travel.”

“Stratajet has invested heavily in building a platform that promises to bring new entrants to the private aviation space,” noted Million Air CEO Roger Woolsey. “We are proud to be a part of this broadening effort to increase the pie for everyone in our industry by attracting those never-before-reached charter customers.”

While the Chicago Cubs’ winning the World Series for the first time in 108 years was an answer to the prayers of many in the Windy City, for the local business aviation service providers, the conquest of the Cleveland Indians in the seven-game fall classic proved a bonus. “Our biggest bump was for the Cleveland flights, people leaving to go to those games,” said Lynn Eplawy, managing partner of the Gary Jet Center, one of two FBOs at Gary/Cleveland International Airport (GYY). “We definitely got some aircraft coming in for the home games, but we got a lot more aircraft departing to go to the games in Cleveland. Certainly games six and seven saw a lot of traffic leaving here.”

The family-owned Gary Jet Center is celebrating its 25th year in operation this year. A former Million Air franchise, the FBO was purchased in 1991 by Wil Davis, who manages it today.

GYY itself has experienced something of a renaissance of late. Located just across the state line in Gary, Ind., the airport last year completed a $174 million runway expansion that was 15 years in the making and required the relocation of a major railway line. The project saw the airport’s main runway extended to nearly 9,000 feet from 7,000 feet, making it more attractive to international operators heading to the Chicago area. For now, the name Gary/Chicago International is a bit of a misnomer, as the airport has not had U.S. Customs service since after the terror attacks in 2001. Arriving international aircraft must first clear at other airports, yet that should change next year with the anticipated opening of a $1.2 million stand-alone U.S. Customs facility.

Since the expansion, the airport, which is situated in Class D airspace, separate from the congestion of O’Hare and Midway, has noted a 15-percent climb in traffic, according to airport officials. “What it has done is put the news of Gary Airport back into conversation,” Eplawy told AIN. “We’ve seen some uptick in travel just from transient traffic, nothing that couldn’t have already landed here, but it was great just being able to talk about the airport again and get some great news around the airport back out.”

Facility Expansion Planned

Gary Jet Center has 40 based turbine aircraft, ranging from a Global to a Meridian. It is also home to the first HondaJet delivered in the United States, and another is expected soon.

The facility is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, with call-out service available at no fee to based customers. It has 115,000 sq ft of heated hangar space, which can accommodate the latest class of ultra-long-range business aircraft. The newest, 40,000 sq ft “hangar three” was certified to Leed gold standard in 2014. The company recently purchased another 43,560-sq-ft hangar complex, which is leased entirely to one company. Its 4,000-sq-ft terminal is part of the facility’s original hangar and features a pilots’ lounge, flight-planning room, quiet/snooze room, a pair of A/V-equipped conference rooms (seating eight and 14 people), crew cars and onsite car rental.

While the company has kept up on the 40-year-old facility, it is planning to break ground next year on a $2 million terminal attached to hangar three. At 7,000 sq ft, it will be nearly twice the size of the existing terminal, which will be kept for tenant offices, and expansion of the maintenance department.

The location has two Part 145 certificates, one for its Boeing maintenance division. “We have 19 employees who work entirely for the Boeing Company’s Executive Flight Operations teams on their fleet of BBJs and Challengers,” said Eplawy. “We have had the contract to provide based maintenance, flight tech maintenance on international trips and fuelings since Boeing brought its flight department to GYY after moving company headquarters to Chicago in 2001.” The other certificate covers the location’s transient traffic as well as its managed fleet, which encompasses 11 jets ranging in size from a GIV to a Citation Mustang, most of them enrolled on Gary Jet’s Part 135 charter certificate.

The FBO, which claims the lion’s share of the aircraft servicing business at GYY, pumps two million gallons of fuel a year. It has a 92,000-gallon tank farm capable of storing 80,000 gallons of jet-A. In addition to 100LL, the location became a distributor for Swift Fuels’ new unleaded avgas in July, with a 1,500-gallon truck dedicated to the fuel. The remainder of its tanker fleet consists of four jet fuel tankers ranging from 8,000 to 2,400 gallons, and a 1,500-gallon 100LL refueler, operated by the location’s NATA Safety 1st-trained line staff. The facility has also held a U.S. government fueling contract for the past two decades and plays host to the annual Gary Airshow. It offers Type I and IV de-icing, and aircraft cleaning and detailing.

Unusual among FBOs, Gary Jet has four airstairs, making it able to accommodate commercial aircraft up to a 747, a feature that was put to use when Air Force One visited. Located just half an hour from downtown Chicago, the airport also provides a direct train link to the city, with a station just off the airport property.

Other benefits to Chicagoland travelers include low fuel prices (Indiana does not charge sales tax on aviation fuel) and landing fees, as well as a provision in Indiana law barring sales tax on aviation parts installed by the state’s Part 145 repair stations.

Eplawy also adds customer service as one of the location’s selling points. “We’re just a great group of people who take our customers seriously and make sure their experience is how they prefer it to be.”

The Government of Dubai is to sponsor an initial $3 billion airports finance deal designed to enable the emirate to meet its scheduled passenger traffic target of 146 million per year by 2025.

Announcing the package last month, the official Dubai Media Office confirmed the new Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) was set to be Dubai’s primary airport, and home to Emirates Airline, starting in 2025.

Khalifa Al Zaffin, executive chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation, the entity that runs DWC, is understood to have been calling for further finance for the airport’s expansion after overseeing the launch of major cargo and business-aviation operations, with its centerpiece being the new VIP Terminal. Al Zaffin aims to push on with the detailed design and build-out of the Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) that will eventually house the operations of Emirates Airline.

Outside the key building blocks of cargo and logistics, business aviation has become a focus for DWC given the extended timeline before scheduled services take off at Dubai’s newest airport in just under a decade. DWC already claims to be rated 20th in the world for cargo throughput.

“Under the proposed financing arrangement, coordinated by Department of Finance for the Government of Dubai, Investment Corporation of Dubai and Dubai Aviation City Corporation, the three parties will work jointly to raise financing from various liquidity sources, both conventional and Islamic. HSBC is acting as financial advisor,” it said.

Dubai International Airport (DXB) was the world’s largest international airport in 2015, with 78 million passengers, after seeing a 13 percent CAGR since 2000. In September 2014, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced that $32 billion would be spent on the MTB and airport expansion.

“Dubai remains firmly committed to the development of the Al Maktoum International Airport [DWC] and to the growth of the global aviation sector, and this initial $3 billion transaction to support Dubai’s ambitious 2025 passenger capacity targets is testament to our belief,” said chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who also is chairman of Emirates.

Despite the race for early adoption at the new airport in business aviation, cargo, logistics, real estate, warehousing and other sectors, scheduled aviation at DWC remains slow, with a handful of departures a day. Construction of Emirates’ DWC Flight Academy appears to be nearing completion.

Expansion at DWC’s main scheduled Passenger Terminal Building (PTB), to raise capacity from 7 to 26 million annual passengers, is now well under way. This concentrated the minds of the FBO community as Jet Aviation and ExecuJet were asked to move out of temporary FBOs at the PTB in the spring.

Although it started operations in April, the new VIP Terminal is to open officially on the first day of the MEBAA show. Construction on the site of World Expo 2020, which will take place at a site on the north-east perimeter of DWC, remains a key catalyst driving the plans of business-jet operators in the emirate.

Until bizjet movements in Dubai as a whole exceed 20,000, only five FBO operators are expected to operate at DWC: DC Aviation Al Futtaim, Jet Aviation, ExecuJet, Jetex Flight Support and Falcon Aviation.

Original plans for the VIP Terminal to include four operators now appear unlikely to bear fruit, as ExecuJet now has standalone plans (including a standalone “interim” facility), and Jet Aviation is understood to be taking the same position, despite Sheikh Ahmed’s original stipulation for a shared facility. Currently, only Jetex and Falcon are operating at the VIP Terminal.

Total annual bizjet movements in Dubai (DXB-plus-DWC) are understood not to exceed 10,000 today; no new FBO operators beyond the current five will be allowed until total Dubai figure exceeds 20,000 in around 2020. Earlier touted to be a key participant, Xjet has apparently put any DWCFBO plans on hold and seems to be concentrating on UK facility for now.

DC Aviation Al Futtaim is to build second hangar, set for completion in the third quarter of 2017. Next door, Falcon Aviation, having shelved plans for a completions center, hopes to finish work on its first hangar by mid-2018.

MEBAA’s Views

MEBAA chairman Ali Alnaqbi said the VIP Terminal was already active at DWC, also referred to as Dubai South.

“MEBAA’s views have been clear for a long time. Business aviation likes to have confidentiality and privacy. That’s always been the case as far as operating private and business aviation is concerned,” he said.

“Dubai South [officials] have their own plans. We have to respect their wishes. They still have plans to operate more than one FBO at that terminal. Obviously there are two now and there may be room for one or two more.”

He said things were going in the right direction. “MEBAA is very supportive of Dubai South, and they are working with us. There is a plan, but plans could always change because this is a huge airport. The plans for real estate are amazing. The plans continue to change, but we have operators and they continue to come.”

DXB will not continue to operate business aviation, according to Sheikh Ahmed, although from time to time it will receive business aircraft on an ad hoc basis. “Jet Aviation and ExecuJet will continue to do maintenance there. There is no plan to take them away for maintenance. But as a terminal or base for business aviation, that won’t continue. There are no slots, except on an ad hoc basis,” he said.

Alnaqbi said only five FBOs would be allowed for the time being. “There is an agreement that they will not allow more than five operators before 20,000 flights are achieved at the airport. The total number of business aviation flights at DXB and DWC is headed to 10,000. They will not issue licenses to other operators until the number of flights exceeds 20,000 a year. That is what Dubai South are saying,” he said.

Mike Berry, vice president Middle East at ExecuJet Aviation Group, agreed. “That is the understanding that is out there. It makes sense. Otherwise you kill the market for companies who have invested in FBO operations. You can however have as many AOC operators as you want.”

“I am sure that in 2020 the number will increase. The Expo 2020 site is under construction now. Maybe we’ll be in a position one year from now to shed some light on how many flights there will be. We don’t know who will be booking space and who will be coming with their own aircraft. In the entire Middle East and North Africa, the expectation is that the number of flights will increase to 165-170,000 by 2020,” said Alnaqbi.

DWC Prospects

ExecuJet

ExecuJet’s Berry said DWC’s stock was rising. “The aircraft based out of Dubai, and visiting aircraft, are getting used to using DWC. Clearly, where before everybody had reasons not to want to use it, now they realize that slots are easier and landing, parking and everything is cheaper than at DXB. It is understood that with the infrastructure that’s in place, it doesn’t take that long to get here. It’s being utilized more.”

Berry all along insisted that ExecuJet would maintain its standalone concept at Dubai South, and now operates an interim FBO, to be replaced by a long-term solution by 2018.

“Together with Jet Aviation, we’ve been the pioneers of general aviation in Dubai. We’ve been operating for over 15 years now. We took the opportunity many years ago to approach the authorities to start talking about what we wanted. We signed our first document with the predecessor to Dubai South in 2009. We wanted to replicate what we have at DXB, which is standalone,” he said.

“Ours is a comprehensive solution. While they have a great central terminal at DWC for an FBO, we want our comprehensive solution alongside our MRO, similar to other regions around the world, where we have FBO and MRO solutions cohabitating. It’s taken a long time, but we have been working very hard at getting those approvals. That’s why we’ve been going to market saying: ’We’re getting approvals; it’s coming.’ It was a long process.”

DC Aviation

Holger Ostheimer, general manager at DC Aviation Al Futtaim, said Dubai South had progressed in the six months since EBACE 2016 (held in Geneva in May).

“What we have seen in the past six months is a relocation of activity from DXB to DWC. It is something that we have been waiting ever since we started operations. When we had the initial discussions with DWC, it was indicated that by October 2013, the majority of private and business aviation would have relocated. That obviously did not happen as scheduled, but it is happening right now and it provides us with an increasing number of opportunities,” he said.

“We respect everyone competing in the market here and contributing to the completion of the VIP Terminal. While the VIP Terminal is a large area, we believe that we can make a difference by providing privacy and discretion that only really this facility can offer. We seek to appeal to a consistent amount of clients that we try to increase over time.”

Empire Aviation

Paras Dhamecha, executive director, Empire Aviation Group, believes the new airport, and its VIP facilities, compare favorably with any other new facility around the world.

“DWC is on an excellent site. The facilities will certainly help the overall experience that we are able to provide to our management customers,” he said.

“The idea of DWC is very strong. Most operators have moved to DWC and we have all but two aircraft based there already. All the feedback has been positive and this speaks volumes for the idea and vision of a VIP Terminal. There was some negative feedback from the temporary FBO facilities, which was inconvenient. DWC will be even better when the lounges of Jetex Flight Support and Falcon Aviation actually open up there.”

ExecuJet Aviation will operate a temporary standalone FBO at Al Maktoum International Airport (Dubai World Central—aka “Dubai South”) until a permanent facility is constructed by late 2018. Mike Berry, president aviation services and vice president, Middle East, said the company would continue to operate its FBO and MRO facilities at Dubai International, but was increasing its focus at DWC as the southward migration of business aviation continued.

ExecuJet (Stand 598) staked its claim early on for a standalone space at DWC. Other FBOs at the airport are obliged to operate from their own portions of a single central terminal. The interim ExecuJet FBO, opened this summer, had been serendipitous. “We were very fortunate to get our hands on this piece of real estate. And honestly, after we got the notification to vacate [the interim facility], because of expansion, we didn’t have a solution other than going back to the central terminal in Dubai South, which was not ideal, because we have always been standalone,” he said.

“Having a look around, nothing was available, but we had a good look at this property, and saw beyond what the shell was. I must say, it has turned out to be better than what we expected. It’s an interim solution, and we invested in the ExecuJet look and feel. We wanted our customers to have that same experience given we envisage that we are going to be here at least until the middle of 2018, depending on how construction on our new facilities goes.”

ExecuJet is well placed to leverage opportunities in the Middle East hub. “Today, as we go into MEBAA, we have our full presence at Dubai International, the two hangars and the FBO, we have this interim Dubai South FBO, and we are in the throes of finalizing the design concept with our consultants for the new facility, for which the plots we have allocated are alongside the DWCMEBAA show complex,” he said.

Berry added that the expanded FBO and hangar would consist of three plots, all next to the runway, each plot being 7,360 square meters (79,2223 square feet). The plan is to accommodate the FBO, MRO facility and a parking hangar. Ramp space in front will be an additional 4,738 sq m (51,000 sq ft), he said.

“We hope that by early next year, within the first quarter, we will have gone to market, awarded the contract and started breaking ground,” he said. The interim facility offers ExecuJet exactly the solution it wanted, in giving clients the “ExecuJet feel” and matching its facilities elsewhere around the world. “It gives us standalone, where our clients can experience the ExecuJet service,” he said.

“It’s a very streamlined process. They arrive, drop off in front, cars are waiting airside and they are driven off to their aircraft. No one’s around, looking to see who’s arriving or departing. That was key in trying to identify a location. The private lounges go down very well. We also have lounges for drivers so that they can sit and wait for passengers. We are just missing duty free. Our ramp parking is directly opposite, a short drive away, very much alongside the passenger terminal building. Before, we had a longer journey to get to an allocated parking area.”

Slow Market

Market conditions have yet to pick up. “The market is still very much depressed in this part of the world. I don’t think we are getting to the levels that we expect, from [our] point of view. We try to closely monitor how we are doing in the market in terms of size. Traffic volumes remain down and the new FBO is not being fully utilized. Unfortunately, we commissioned it in the middle of summer, when traffic was right at a low.

“We are waiting for the traffic to come back, and it is picking up slowly, so that we can start utilizing the asset as it should be. Like everybody who’s put in assets here, unfortunately, there has been a dip in the last two years. We have also seen a drop in MRO traffic. FBO traffic is increasing, but still not at the levels we want to see.”

Berry blames the poor market on several causes. “It was a combination of factors that finally caught up with the region: unrest, and the oil price, the economic situation in Russia; we never saw those Russian tourists coming through Dubai like we used to, charter flights coming in with 40-50 passengers. We had our first recently, and we hadn’t seen one of those flights for well over a year. That’s an indication that the economic pressures around the world and the flights into and through Dubai have just dried up,” he said.

Last year’s Luxaviation-ExecuJet merger continues to progress. “The merger has been successful and we are starting to [see] momentum on some of the integration and the economies of scale in growing the overall fleet. Integration has been happening from our central operation center in Cambridge, from where we provide dispatch, CAMO support and training, and we’ve been busy integrating all the Luxaviation aircraft on the ExecuJet platform. That’s still ongoing. We have just over 1,500 employees in the group and over 250 aircraft.”

Berry said ExecuJet operates 18 aircraft in the region. “Our charter fleet has not really grown. Our A6 [Dubai-registered] fleet has shrunk; we just lost one aircraft, so we are down to four [on] charter: two Global 5000s, an Embraer Lineage and a Falcon 900. The other aircraft in the fleet vary from a Learjet 60 to Globals. The private owners operate their aircraft under Isle of Man and other offshore jurisdictions from Dubai and locations in the region.”

He is wary of calling any market recovery. “I have no big picture on that other than we believe in the future of the region; that it will always come back. We believe in Dubai South, which is why we are investing heavily, to the tune of over $40 million. We wouldn’t do that if we didn’t believe the market would come back at a certain point in time. Everything being geared up for Expo 2020 will certainly bring more traffic through Dubai South again. So we are certainly very hopeful in the build-up to that,” he said.

“On 2015 movements, we are slightly up. I think the market operators see about 13,000 to 14,000 movements a year. People are adjusting their views downwards. We thought that if the market could reach about 18,000 or just under 20,000 movements by 2020, that would be very good. All the indicators were that it could happen, but trends [are hard to discern].”

ExecuJet offers 24/7 MRO support at Dubai South and has done so for over a year, with technicians offering AOG and line maintenance support operating out of rented accommodation and small business units. “When we need indoor hangar space, we approach people around us,” he said.

Berry believes people are not talking about the illicit “grey” charter market any more, even though it is still prevalent. “The debates in conferences and the media coverage chased some of it off, but there’s no doubt it still happens.”

Global Expansion

As president of aviation services, Berry’s eyes are not fixed only on the Middle East. “As a global business, we are now operating 24 FBOs and growing. There is a lot of interest in new opportunities. Our recent acquisition of St. Martin in the Caribbean is our first step into that region. We have also developed an FBO in Mexico, on top of our AOC management business.”

ExecuJet’s joint venture in Riyadh with NAS Holding has also seen a slow summer. “We started operations to the Royal Terminal at King Khalid International Airport. There is talk of now reenergizing the project we all participated in years ago to build a new terminal. We’ll see how that develops. Given the hardware sitting on their ramp, and the number of aircraft passing through, it would be good [to replace it].”

It also has a new joint venture in Delhi. “That’s been running for awhile and is picking up very nicely. We are in the design concept [of] building a new central terminal with the other licensed concessionaire.”

At least Berry can be satisfied with ExecuJet’s current regional mission, which is to “construct our new Dubai South facilities and present to the market that what we’ve been talking about is a reality. This FBO facility gives us a great foothold to grow our business in Dubai South. Our FBO business continues to be good for us. Our focus here is to capture the opportunities that we can, and build our new facilities,” he said.

“For the Middle East, we are…trying to retain a managed fleet of aircraft owners who we can provide an exceptionally high service to. We’ve just recently lost another two aircraft due to them being sold. To replace them is difficult, because there are not many new aircraft coming in on a regular basis. And by new, I mean newly bought or pre-owned by a new foreign owner. In today’s climate it’s difficult to grow our fleet by 20-25 percent.”

Wars in Syria, Yemen, and other Middle East trouble-spots, coupled with low oil prices, have acted as a brake on progress for business aviation in the region, according to trip support specialist UAS International Trip Support (UAS, Stand 563). But the company is now a true global player in flight operations support, with a network of specialists supporting customers worldwide. Its international profile was further expanded with last month’s news that Chinese business aviation services group Deer Jet—a division of airline group HNA—is to acquire a major stake in a transaction that is due to be completed in December.

UAS executive vice president Jay Ammar Husary told AIN that regional business aviation has yet to achieve its full potential, but the bright spot provided by Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates has meant a backdrop of longer-term opportunity. In particular, he sees grounds for optimism based on the launch of Al Maktoum International Airport’s VIP Terminal here at Dubai World Central (DWC)/Dubai South.

“[Middle East business aviation] was headed towards fulfilling 100 percent of its potential. The problem is, you can’t isolate what’s happening in Syria, Yemen and other countries from this issue, because it has affected the whole region. When conflict in part of the region is combined with a drop in oil prices, these factors unite to slow any progress. I think it is going to get there, but it will take time,” he said. “That doesn’t mean there is no hope—I think the progress is there, but it has just been slowed down by factors such as unrest in the wider Middle East and record-low oil prices.”

Husary likens Dubai’s “pioneering vision” to that of UAS. “It thinks and does things big; it’s ambitious and innovative. It doesn’t regress—it progresses.”

DWC’s aviation district, and the VIP Terminal in particular, are leading the way, he believes. “It’s going to be a game-changer in terms of security and accessibility. People are longing to be able to operate there.”

Several regional regulatory changes, as the UAE’s civil aviation authority moves to harmonize with the EASA framework, add to no-fly-zone problems. “This has made charter more expensive. Going from point A to point B now takes longer, consuming more fuel, especially if you are going towards Europe from this region.”

UAS announced a tie-up with DC Aviation Al Futtaim (DCAF) at the EBACE show in Geneva this past May. “We partnered with them for a very simple reason: to enhance the UAS client experience,” explained Husary. “DCAF is the only integrated hangar and VVIP lounge facility in the VIP terminal [area], providing the highest levels of comfort and privacy to UAS’s clients.”

That FBO’s unique location within DWC’s aviation district means minimal distance from drop-off to aircraft steps. DCAF provides aircraft management, maintenance, FBO, and ground handling services as well as business jet charter, giving UAS clients access to hangarage, technical support and DWC handling facilities.

“The benefits are extensive personalized service, improved response times and more competitive rates at the airport. It makes a big difference, I promise you. It’s not only the distance: the facility is isolated, and that means privacy as well. And that is very important to our clients,” he said

In the run-up to EBACE, UAS announced several partnerships with Asia Pacific-based FBOs, where the company has seen great demand. “We provide value for them through the volume we deliver to them. Now we are servicing the entire Chinese mainland. I think the market is growing. We notice a lot of delivery flights going to Asia. There’s huge growth in China, and in Japan as well. With the rise of HNWIs [high net-worth individuals] in China, we also see growth in ownership.”

Africa is also on the upswing. “We have seen fast development [there] recently. We have placed 13 station managers on the continent already, and our goal is to place a country manager in every country,” Husary said.

India is a focus as well. “We are providing the UAS standard of quality [there]. That means top-notch service; attention to detail and no surprises. We have station managers in New Delhi and Mumbai to care for the finer details of our clients’ missions.”

New Flight Planning Tool

UAS launch its new FlightEvolution flight planning tool at last month’s NBAA show in the U.S.“It is a technology that we feel is at least three-to-five years ahead of anything else available on the market,” claimed Husary.

The software is built with a mobile-first approach and can also operate as a web-based system. This improves speed, functionality and efficiency, according to UAS. “It’s going to make a huge difference to pilots flying in the cockpit, with regard to accessibility, speed, and quick decision-making, and in terms of visual effect as well,” said Husary.

The system features a mapping engine that can render high-definition graphics without delay. “Its highly-intuitive interface makes for easy navigation. This tool literally puts a three-dimensional view of the mission in the palm of the user’s hand,” Husary said.

UAS surveyed pilots, dispatchers and schedulers in the predevelopment phase, and then tested it with professional pilots. “We started from scratch in terms of the design and made it mobile-friendly,” explained Husary. “This is a major distinguisher from other systems that are already available—you can only do so many modifications on existing systems, and often trying to convert them from web-based to mobile can compromise functionality. We have reinvented the wheel to accommodate the changes but this technology will see us through to the future.”

The interface is simple and user-friendly. “You will be able to do all the things you want to do as a pilot, dispatcher or scheduler. It is going to be an evolution from everything the market has seen to date.”

DC Aviation Al Futtaim (DCAF, Stand 682) is the FBO, MRO and aircraft management company that set the tone for activities at Dubai World Central Airport (DWC/Dubai South) by entering the market three years before its rivals. It expects two new aircraft to join its managed fleet of four before the end of the year, according to what general manager Holger Ostheimer told AIN in an exclusive interview last month.

“We will have five aircraft [under management] in November, and expect to have six aircraft in December. We will be increasing our fleet with the Dassault Falcon aircraft. The aircraft to join us in November will be a 7X,” he said.

In mid-2015, DCAF announced that the managed fleet included a Bombardier Challenger 604. “Discretion is right up there on the list for credible shareholders, only beaten by flight safety. In operations and MRO, aircraft safety is everything,” said Ostheimer.

“We have increased handling activity, fleet size, and our footprint as a whole—in infrastructure, competency and maintenance qualifications and certifications, as well as aircraft types covered. We are looking to the future with moderately positive expectations.”

He hailed a “moderate” increase in MRO, “significant” increases in activity on the aircraft management side, and added that, with the shift in its FBO business from DXB (Dubai International) to DWC, the new airport offered improved business opportunities.

“In the same timeframe, we have further improved hangar utilization by signing up new hangar clients. We have also managed to increase our MRO activity and, over the course of the year, we obtained CAR 145 approval in the UAE.”

He said DCAF had concluded phase one of its MRO build-out strategy, a 5,700-square-meter (61,354-square-foot) hangar, and had plans for a second 7,500-sq-m (80,729-sq-ft) maintenance facility in which operations will begin in the third quarter of next year.

“We have put Hangar One into operation. The FBO is more and more busy. We have made the

investment, especially through our shareholders’ resources, coming with the associated significant costs. We are interpreting the market by once again taking the courage to put another level of investment into the game, to build a second hangar to increase our presence, but overall to provide the preconditions for further diversification.”

The existing DCAF hangar can accommodate four Airbus ACJ320s or Boeing BBJ737s as well as two ultra-long range business jets such as the Falcon 7X, Bombardier Global Express or Gulfstream G550.

Lufthansa Co-op

In May, Lufthansa Technik announced a cooperation agreement with DCAF. “The two companies plan to offer their VIP customers a first-class package of services at Al Maktoum International Airport [DWC]. An experienced, highly qualified team of engineers and mechanics will ensure cost efficiency and quality that are ‘made in Germany’,” said Lufthansa Technik.

That month also saw DCAF announce a ground handling agreement. “We have a number of flight support agents that we are cooperating with. One of these is United Aviation Services, with whom we have a very healthy exchange of services,” Ostheimer said.

Pure management had been a better business for DCAF than charter, he said. “We observe a trend of aircraft owners predominantly utilizing the aircraft themselves rather than making them available for charter. The aircraft charter market has come under pressure so that the returns provide for a lot less encouragement for wanting to make those capacities available to the third-party charter market.”

From a global perspective, regional markets are under considerable pressure, due to poor economies as well as political issues. “The UAE has proved to be a stable location and has continued to be interesting enough for those individuals able to operate aircraft and partially or fully residing in the UAE. The UAE market, as an isolated case, provides for much greater hope than any other market on the international scene,” he said.

The European market, with strong expectations for Turkey dating from 2012, has not seen any recent growth, while over-regulation has stymied the Indian market, leading several local high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) to use the UAE as a base, he added. Commercial opportunities in China have not materialized either.

The U.S. remains the biggest market overall; but, he observed, despite promising trends in U.S. activity and unit sales, the only promising market at the moment is, in fact, the UAE. “The UAE is a very natural choice,” he said.

Flight Ops Concern

Flight-crew duty-time regulations are under study by the UAE’s GCAA. “At one point sooner or later, the relevant flight-crew duty-time regulations will take effect. We just hope that the GCAA will remain in open dialog with the commercial business-jet operators to provide the special provisions needed to make the operation of a business jet under a UAE or A6 [UAE registration code] flag possible,” said Ostheimer.

He added, “What you see on the international scene is putting the responsibility more into the hands of the operators, with their own risk assessment, particularly towards flight duty-time regulations, with each operator having a very good look at what is being perceived at base and what isn’t, and then going to the regulatory authority for approval or otherwise. That is a very interesting trend.

“What finally will be formulated through the GCAA—the flight ops department—remains to be seen. We are curious and hopeful that those regulations will [take] special consideration for business jet operations.”

Estimating total movements in the Dubai market at around 10,00 to 12,000, he said that while these numbers were on an international scale, providing for moderate growth scenarios would continue to be difficult for the five FBO and operator license holders at Dubai South.

“Dubai [offers] an appealing, secure and safe lifestyle. We are surrounded by a culture that provides opportunities for business. Our clientele is very much dependent on those business opportunities. These occur through the appeal of the UAE and Dubai in particular as a private or commercial residence,” he said.

“Since that business lives off HNWIs, the particular attraction of Dubai for those individuals will for a long time provide for more opportunities locally than other areas internationally.”

Ostheimer is alert to the competitive threat posed by new FBO entrants at the DWCVIP Terminal.

“Philosophically, we are not working against the competition. We are working for the client. We would like to be a logical choice, an attractive proposition so that the client can make a positive choice for us, while we truly respect and appreciate all the competition,” he said.

“What we do see in the global economics and general demographics of wealth is that more and more people are becoming high-net-worth or ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Demand for private and business aviation transport is not going to recede in Dubai. I can see enough opportunities arising that it’s going to keep us busy long enough that we will stay here for a long time.”