Jetex Flight Support is poised for further expansion through the potential acquisition of another FBO at an undisclosed location in South America. The Dubai-based group has grown fast in recent years, with a new FBO at Marseille in the south of France being the latest addition to its global network in May.

“We are still seeing being demand, and this is why we are expanding our network worldwide,” Jetex president and CEO Adel Mardini told AIN. “We see continued growth in the Latin American market, stability in the Middle East and Europe, and a drop in the Russian market. Overall growth [in business aviation traffic] has been around 5 to 10 percent so far this year.”

Two years on from the opening of its U.S. operations center at Miami International Airport in 2014, North America remains a major focal point for Jetex’s ambitions in this continent. Together with its operations centers in Dubai and Beijing, the group provides trip support worldwide around the clock. Mardini indicated that it might be pursuing ambitions to add an FBO to its chain in the U.S.

In November 2015, Jetex expanded farther south through a partnership with local FBO Eolo at Toluca International Airport, which is Mexico’s main business aviation gateway. Around the same time, Jetex also signed a licensing agreement with Japan’s Air Contrail to provide ground handling services at Tokyo’s Narita and Haneda Airports, where access restrictions for business aircraft have been partially lifted in recent years.

In early 2014, Jetex made its first direct move into the Latin America market with the opening of an FBO at the Chilean capital Santiago. Combined with the new Mexican facility, the company achieved annual growth in traffic of around 36 percent in 2015, which it argued was well ahead of industry-wide growth rates for the region last year. It also has a presence in São Paulo, Brazil.

In Europe, Jetex also has facilities at Paris Le Bourget Airport, Shannon in Ireland, Minsk in Belarus, and the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Its network now extends throughout Africa, the Middle East (including at the new Dubai World Central Airport), Central Asia and the Far East. Mardini claimed that the company’s market share of flights handled at locations rapidly increases when it establishes new bases and offices.

“Customers now look forward to expanding their [operational] network around the world with us,” Mardini stated. “They prefer our one-stop shop with account managers who know all their needs and who know the owners, managers, pilots and passengers personally.”

Also in the U.S., Jetex has a new partnership with private charter membership program JetSmarter. This involves access to its network of FBOs and lounges for operators carrying JetSmarter members. According to Mardini, companies like JetSmarter, which promise significant discounts compared with traditional charter services, are forcing handling providers to be more competitive as well.

The past few years also have seen Jetex step up investment in training and quality standards as it seeks to earn the IS-BAH handling standards certificate that the International Business Aviation Council awards to qualifying FBOs. This year has seen the group rolling out its new global trip management operating system developed in-house by its own IT team.