DUBAI, 30 January 2004 — As flight schedules of regional national carriers remain deficient in meeting the needs of holiday goers, business aviation services have been pressed into service to fill the gap.
ExecuJet Middle East noted an increase in demand for its leisure aviation services and attributed it in part to the upcoming Eid Al-Adha holiday period. ExecuJet clients have been signing up for short-haul destinations in the region, especially Egypt and Lebanon as well as for long-haul flights to under served locations such as the Maldives.
“In Saudi Arabia the bulk of private jet flights are undertaken by royal family members, VVIP clients and top business executives, the overwhelming majority of whom are Saudi nationals,” said Horm Irani, managing director, ExecuJet Middle East. “Sixty to 70 percent of this travel is for leisure related activities.”
These clients turn to private aviation services because national carriers are heavily overbooked to popular destinations and some destinations have an extremely limited number of flights from the Middle East. In addition, high-level customers often choose to travel at the last minute, once schedules and professional obligations are clarified.
“Key destinations from Saudi Arabia are in the Arab world,” said Irani. “Most popular is Beirut, followed by Dubai, Cairo and Muscat. As for international destinations, the most popular is Paris and then London, Maldives and Mauritius.”
Irani admitted that while many would prefer to fly on a private flight, it really isn’t an option for most. “The cost of the service depends on a number of factors, including destination, number of passengers, the type of aircraft chartered, how long the individuals charter the flight for and the aircraft stays away from its base, along with the number of sectors covered in the flight,” he explained.
“As a loose guide, the average cost per person is approximately a third more expensive than a first class ticket on a scheduled flight.”
Despite the premium cost of a chartered flight, Irani emphasized that ExecuJet customers are looking for certain types of value not available by using national carriers. Business aviation allows for the ability to fly on demand and higher levels of comfort and convenience. Irani remarked that increasingly, VIP travelers in the Middle East are electing to fly with private jets during the holiday periods because this maximizes scarce leisure time and enables them to reach their destinations with a high-level of security in a private environment.
“Because people in the Middle East are used to waiting for holidays such as Eid to be formally declared before arranging their breaks, there is a tendency for booking flights at the last moment,” Irani said. “With this Eid holiday lasting anywhere between five and 10 days people prefer to travel to destinations that are not too far from their home countries. Limiting flying time to a maximum of six hours means travelers can enjoy an optimum amount of time away, relaxing in a warm environment.”
The additional advantage of flying privately for the holidays is that travelers can choose to arrive at smaller airports than those serviced by commercial airlines.
“Being able to land at and depart from less frequented airports means that our travelers do not have to contend with high levels of traffic at immigration and customs during the holiday season,” Irani concluded.
