Sudden sandstorms in the Middle East’s deserts are just one of the problems complicating the task of the region’s maintenance providers. At the recent MRO Middle East conference in Dubai, delegates heard that airlines often need to delay or even cancel departures on short notice due to unforeseen maintenance needs caused by sand and dust. Engines, bleed-air systems and air-conditioning packs are especially vulnerable to the region’s hot and unpredictable conditions.
Saudi Arabian Airlines
December 13, 2012 - 2:00am
The Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) general assembly elected two new board members yesterday and held an insurance workshop for its MEBAA aviation insurance scheme (MAIS).
Wajdi Al Idrissi, managing director of Saudia Private Aviation (SPA), and Richard Gaona, president and CEO of Comlux Management, will join other industry leaders to promote business aviation in the region and beyond as members of MEBAA’s board.
December 10, 2012 - 12:40pm
Saudia Private Aviation (SPA), the business jet arm of Saudi Arabian Airlines, is seeing increased interest from businesses in the Kingdom in acquiring new aircraft, as it prepared to open the largest FBO in the country, at Jeddah.
December 10, 2012 - 10:15am
Saudia Private Aviation (SPA), the business jet arm of Saudi Arabian Airlines, is seeing increased interest from businesses in the Kingdom in acquiring new aircraft, as it prepared to open the country’s largest FBO in Jeddah. “SPA’s operations will grow 100 percent year-on-year this year,” said SPA CEO Wajdi Al Idrissi. “The government is spending the money and there is no decline in growth. In Saudi Arabia, private aviation is growing at 15 to 20 percent a year.”
September 24, 2012 - 12:15pm
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation has postponed until next February a long-awaited decision on which foreign airline it will allow to start operating domestic and international services in the country’s highly restrictive air transport market, the agency confirmed last week. Confusingly, GACA spokesman Khalid Al-Khaibary told Arab News the Saudis will grant startup licenses to whatever airline wins within four to six months, even though authorities say they expect flights to begin in April.
August 6, 2012 - 1:10pm
Qatar Airways is set to become the first foreign carrier to make lasting inroads into the Saudi Arabian air transport market, in moves that could overturn long-standing restrictions that have made the large and wealthy country something of a sleeping giant.
June 20, 2012 - 12:11pm
Robert Bryant has joined UK-based International Bureau of Aviation as manager of technical projects. He joins the firm from SpiceJet in India, where he was vice president. He has also held senior positions at Air Astana and Al Salam Aircraft and has worked with carriers such as British Airways and Saudia. An IBA spokesman said the consulting firm has seen demand for expert-witness testimony in the field of aircraft maintenance increase 400 percent over the last two years. IBA advises commercial and business aviation clients, aircraft engine manufacturers and operators.
May 10, 2012 - 1:55pm
Saudia Private Aviation (SPA) plans to open business-jet FBOs at Saudi Arabia’s four main airports–Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Medina–within a year, according to company managing director Wajdi Al Idrissi. The facility at SPA’s Jeddah home base is expected to open next month.
May 3, 2012 - 3:55am
Abu Dhabi’s emergence as a leading business aviation hub in the Arabian Gulf was further enhanced by the March staging of the inaugural Air Expo. The event, held at the Al Bateen Executive Airport nine months before rival Dubai’s Middle East Business Aviation show, attracted a reported 10,700 visitors and 105 exhibitors.
January 3, 2012 - 1:05am
Business aviation in the Middle East is expected to keep growing at a faster rate than that seen in North America and Europe, but slower than the more dynamic expansion now being seen in the emerging markets of Asia. This is the broad consensus among manufacturers and service providers for a region that is now emerging from a somewhat unsettled two-year period that has seen some fall-out from wider economic problems and the so-called Arab Spring political unrest.
