Honeywell Aerospace (Stand 562) comes to MEBA this year armed with some new contract announcements in business aviation and determined to promote the value of its support offerings to operators in the region. AIN spoke to the U.S. company’s regional sales director for the Middle East, Raghed Talih, last week and found him “optimistic about growth.”

“The aftermarket and connectivity are two areas where we see growth,” enthused Talih, although he admitted the overall picture was tending to show a slowdown, “Probably not surprising given the economic situation and other tensions in the [MENA] region,” he added.

“The other interesting side is that the used jet market was very strong in 2014 with [increasing] importance of the market for services, retrofits, modifications and upgrades. Operators want to keep their aircraft up to date so we’re seeing huge opportunities, and we have a full team at our region head office in Dubai,” said Talih.

He also points to operators’ demands for more predictable maintenance, in both service levels and costs. “Having aircraft available 24/7 all year round is their top priority,” he noted.

Referring to the upcoming announcements at the MEBA show relating to support of Boeing Business Jets (see boxed story), Talih said “the population of BBJs [in the Middle East] is the highest in the world and there is a lot of excitement about deliveries, [but the] other story related to our survey is that Honeywell has been investing in bringing out products to enhance performance and safety, the cockpit experience and cabin experience. We have also come a long way in certifying retrofits, modifications and upgrades, while mandates and updating software are also big concerns for operators.

“Keeping aircraft flying in all the different airspace around the world is very high on our agenda, for example. More than any other region, Middle East operators go all over the world so need to be able to fly their aircraft anywhere.”

In the Gulf region, Jet Aviation ad Execujet in Dubai are both authorized Honeywell service centers. “On the mechanical side we have three major service centers,” said Talih (the other being Arabasco in Jeddah, who also act as avionics dealers for Saudi Arabia). “We also have SA MENA in Bahrain on the avionics side and another avionics dealer in Dubai, Hawker Pacific.” But it is the growth of the company’s local team supporting business aviation that is the main harbinger of increased support. “Just a couple of years ago it was just myself,” he said.

Connectivity Increases

The other area that Talih is excited about is connectivity. “Honeywell signed up with Inmarsat as the exclusive developer of hardware for Ka band, and in business aviation we have an exclusive deal on the service side, with resellers such as Satcom1.”

“One of the things that really influences buying [of aircraft] by Middle Eastern customers is range, but the number two criteria is cabin size and comfort. Number three is aircraft performance,” he added. But, in his view, connectivity is a major part of the cabin experience and Honeywell is heavily involved with the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband and the move up from 432 kb/sec to 33 Mb/sec connection speed. “Certification should be completed by mid-2015, so we’re looking at the launch for customers and platforms now. The first to be completed will be an ACJ319, and also a BBJ–these are the two key ones [aircraft types] but there are a number of other platforms.”

Talih added that, “Live TV, videoconferencing–the possibilities are unlimited when you have so much bandwidth, and consistency–not a patchwork like you get with air-to-ground.” The dominant factor in the Middle East, he said, was that with Ka band there would be a network of only three satellites “covering the entire world. So the Middle East in particular will be a really hot area [for demand].”

At MEBA, Talih said Honeywell has a “virtual reality seat” on its stand where it can put visitors in a virtual world “to experience all the technologies Honeywell can put in an aircraft–cockpit, cabins etc. We’re very excited about it, we’ve not seen this at any other show.”

Honeywell to Support Boeing APUs

Honeywell announced here at MEBA 2014 that an undisclosed Middle East operator had become the first customer to sign up for its Boeing Business Jet auxiliary power unit user maintenance plan.

The company’s APU Maintenance Plan (AMP) is an aftermarket warranty program for BBJs that “simplifies maintenance planning by providing access to fixed rate servicing, repair and spares for Honeywell’s 131-9B APU,” that is standard on all Boeing 737NG aircraft (which the BBJ 737 is based on).

“With its high proportion of BBJ operators looking for hassle-free, predictable aftermarket support, the Middle East is an important market for AMP,” said Raghed Talih, Honeywell Aerospace director, Middle East, Turkey and North Africa for business and general aviation.

BBJ operators enrolled in the program are also able to extend the resale value of their aircraft by transferring AMP to a new owner at the point of sale, added Honeywell. AMP’s extended coverage includes complete on-condition unscheduled heavy maintenance costs such as inspection, lifecycle-limited parts and labor, as well as special AMP rates for temporary rental units from Honeywell’s APU bank and access to all major Honeywell service centers.

Other servicing and maintenance programs from Honeywell include the MPP Mechanical Protection Plan for cabin control systems on selected Gulfstream and Pilatus platforms, the MSP Maintenance Service Plan and the Honeywell Avionics Protection Plan (HAPP) covering avionics and satellite connectivity systems.

Honeywell announced here this week that Middle East construction and facilities management company Saudi Oger has become the first customer in the region for HAPP, which is designed to increase fleet availability for operators while driving more predictable and manageable maintenance costs.

“Avoiding unplanned grounding and ensuring our fleet is available as it is needed is a top priority for us, as a grounded aircraft is simply 100 percent cost with no return,” said Saudi Oger’s director of maintenance Mahmoud Khatib. “This requirement, combined with the benefit of more predictable operations and maintenance, makes HAPP a cost-effective, easy-to-justify investment that can deliver an immediate positive impact on our bottom line.”

Saudi Oger will have full maintenance coverage of the avionics and satcom systems on its BBJ and its two Gulfstream G450 aircraft, which it has also enrolled in the program. In addition, Saudi Oger has also enrolled the two G450s in Honeywell’s Mechanical Protection Plan (MPP).

“MPP provides the same level of assurance and peace-of-mind as HAPP, but across the aircraft’s cabin control systems such as the air conditioning and cabin pressurization equipment,” said Honeywell. It is available for Gulfstream G350, GIV, G450, GV and G550 and Pilatus PC-12/PC-12NG turboprop.

“Our agreement with Saudi Oger demonstrates that even the largest bizliners can benefit from the cover our maintenance plans provide,” said Talih. “As the first HAPP-protected BBJ operator in the Middle East, Saudi Oger has taken a fresh approach to safeguarding against unplanned grounding and is making its maintenance costs more predictable in the process.”