Middle East fleet expansion

VistaJet, the world’s leading luxury aviation company outside the Americas, announces it is to dedicate new long-range aircraft to its fleet in the Middle East in response to strong demand for its services across the region and in particular from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE.

This commitment comes as the company placed a firm order for 3 new aircraft including one Global 5000* and two Challenger 850* aircraft in addition to the company’s existing US$2 billion order backlog.

The Challenger 850 is most likely to be placed in the Middle East: it has the largest, most versatile interior in its class with a full suite of rooms for up to 14 passengers and capable of flying the longer range sectors demanded across the region of between five to ten hours.

“Whilst Saudi Arabia is currently driving 70% of our traffic in the Middle East, we expect demand to increase from across the region particularly from UAE and Qatar, so that by end of 2012 I would see the Middle East representing around 15% of our revenue. To service this growing demand, we are expanding our fleet and are committing new state-of-the–art long range aircraft to the Middle East to fly from anywhere within the region or internationally. For our customers, the fleet provides the ‘aircraft of choice’ whether flying medium or long haul and in the level of comfort that they come to expect from VistaJet.”

Thomas Flohr, founder and chairman, VistaJet

In total, VistaJet’s current order backlog will increase VistaJet`s fleet size to in excess of 60 aircraft by 2015, doubling the size of the business.

The company is also maintaining the company’s commitment to an average fleet age at less than two years with no single aircraft being more than three years old, with the delivery of up to 6 new Learjet 60 XR aircraft by year end.

“If you are the owner of a natural resource business with assets across the globe and invariably located in hard-to-get-to places, you cannot afford to spend days flying to them. Nor are you going to want to fly on some of the airlines that will get you there. With our modern, state of the art long haul fleet, VistaJet will fly you there directly and in style. Flying VistaJet is as much a business decision as it is a lifestyle choice. Our typical customer in the Middle East is one of exceptional taste and has a keen awareness of value for money and these are attributes which fit perfectly with the ethos of VistaJet. With the continued expansion of our fleet we are providing our customers with the convenience and comfort they demand, whilst offering the industry’s simplest business model.”

Maged Elabd, Head of Middle East at VistaJet

VistaJet’s service is designed so customers enjoy a partnership with the company and is split into two flight solutions – Programs and On Demand. The Program is built around customers who fly often, more than 100 hours per year, and want guaranteed availability and the consistency of a luxury product.

The On Demand Solution is for customers who fly only occasionally, but when they do, it is a special occasion whereby they expect nothing less than the VistaJet luxury for their families or business colleagues. VistaJet’s customers can also take advantage of the largest single service area in business aviation – from the US east coast to Asia/Pacific. Program Solution customers can fly within, or between any regions in the VistaJet service area with no positioning costs. Whether flying from London to New York, Geneva to Riyadh or Bahrain to Beijing, Program customers only pay for the hours they fly, on the aircraft that meets their requirements.