Deals seen doubling at Abu Dhabi Air Expo 2013

Abu Dhabi: The expected contracts at Abu Dhabi Air Expo 2013 are likely to double this year compared to the deals in 2011, Yousuf Al Hammadi, general manager of Al Bateen Executive Airport and chairman of organising committee of Abu Dhabi Air Show, told Gulf News on Wednesday.

“This year, the contracts would reach Dh2 billion compared to Dh1 billion in 2011, double the amount of deals reached last year,” Al Hammadi said.

He added that the growth of the private jet business in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region would be in the range of 15-20 per cent.

More than 100 aircraft from 70 countries are on display at the expo, with strong participation from Canada, US, Germany, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan.

The price of displayed jets range from $70,000 (Dh257,460) to $60 million, Al Hammadi pointed out.

“The total price of the jets showcased in the Al Bateen Airport this year amounts to Dh3.68 billion [$1 billion] this year,” said Al Hammadi, adding that there is a demand by some businessmen on some jets.

“There is a demand on some kinds of jets by some businessmen,” he continued, declining to name the jets or the would-be purchasers saying that “only the vendors would announce them in due time as per their privacy and disclosure policies.”

There are 23 operators, four of them are major operators who have major business and high level activities.

“The four major operators are Royal Jet, Rotan Jet, Al Jaber, and Falcon,” said Al Hammadi.