Middle East private jet market to grow 20%

International Air Charter (IAC), one of the world's largest independent private jet charter brokers, is consolidating its charter jet network in the Middle East as it predicts the regional market to expand between 15 to 20% this year, driven strongly by the increasing use of chartered jets by the region's affluent in lieu of commercial airline services. IAC revealed that the Middle East market offers great long-term potential that will enable the company to achieve its targets in 2009, sustaining IAC's growth trajectory as it builds on an impressive 40% growth in 2008.
IAC has further reported that its client base among royal families, CEOs, and other members of the region's affluent has been steadily increasing as clients recognise the strategic benefits of charter jet services, particularly in terms of convenience and time savings. With its access to some 50,000 aircraft from all over the world through its Computerised Aircraft Tracking System (CATS), which is updated automatically on a daily basis, IAC pointed out that it is able to deliver private jet services within a maximum of two hours and carry any customer to any destination in the world.
"There is a growing awareness about the practical value of using private aircraft charters as customers can certainly enjoy a range of premium value-added benefits,” said Elie Abdo, Managing Partner – Middle East, International Air Charter. “By using our private jet services, customers don’t have to worry about queues and restrictions on hand luggage, will have minimal check-in procedures and can avail of swift and secure immigration clearance. Moreover, they can have peace of mind in terms of safety and security, while they can even arrive up to 15 to 20 minutes prior to departure, allowing them to squeeze in some more precious extra time to attend to important business matters."
"We have noted a significant increase in traffic between the Middle East and Europe and we intend to leverage our strong presence in key European destinations to deliver the most convenient and flexible services to our Middle East clients, who have shown great satisfaction for the enhanced privileges and more personalised and customised services that they get compared with regular commercial airline offerings," added Abdo.
IAC offers 24-hour service from virtually any point, which can be availed at short notice. For example, a package out of London for six passengers to see the Formula 1 action in Germany by avoiding tiring journeys, airport parking, check-in queues and car hire formalities, would cost around GBP 5500 return.