A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

The strength of the Middle Eastern business jet market is no longer based solely on oil production, according to industry analyst Brian Foley. Speaking before the start of the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show in Dubai, he said that despite the recent increase in the price of oil, there are more factors at play than in the past. “Certainly oil still plays a role, but today its influence is much less direct,” he noted. “Just look at the investment and financial front, the need to work with partners in Europe, Asia and the Americas. That alone requires a well developed business aviation fleet and infrastructure.” Of the approximately 550 Middle East-based business jets, nearly 90 percent are in the medium or large cabin categories, compared with a worldwide average of 60 percent. Foley believes the higher incidence of larger aircraft speaks not just to luxury and prestige but to the utility of the longer range that these aircraft offer in support of banking, real estate, construction and other industries. “These entities rely on jets to support their business activities internationally, many of which are oil-independent,” he said.

Mideast Bizjets Run on More Than Oil

The strength of the Middle Eastern business jet market is no longer based solely on oil production, according to industry analyst Brian Foley.

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