UAE-based Empire Aviation Group has said demand for its charter services had seen an 11% increase in January 2010. The positive performance follows a strong recovery in Q4 2009, the company said, after its charter bookings dropped around 40% in the first half of 2009.

Capital Club Dubai, the region's premier private business club, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai-based Empire Aviation Group, the Middle East's leading private jet operator and Charter Company, under which Capital Club Members will gain access to a wide range of luxury services, with the unprecedented opportunity to enjoy exclusive flight facilities and routes, at preferential rates.

Commenting on the agreement, Capital Club Dubai's CEO Russell Matcham, said: "We are passionately committed to offering our Members an ever broader array of benefits. Through our agreement with Empire Aviation Group, Members will gain privileged access to a range of services. As a private club we can establish opportunities for members to share flights to common destinations, take advantage of empty legs, and to avail of 'lifestyle@empire', which combines luxury travel with private jet charter. This means that our Concierge can package international trips for our members at a whole new level."

Empire Aviation Group Executive Director Paras P. Dhamecha added: "We are delighted to sign this MoU with the Capital Club, which is known for offering top-end facilities and benefits to its exclusive membership. We are confident that this agreement will prove to be mutually beneficial and will add value for both parties, with members being given access to the outstanding aviation services for which Empire Aviation Group has become known throughout the region and beyond."

Located in the DIFC, the Capital Club Dubai is an exclusive private business Club, with membership by invitation only, offering its Members exceptional meeting, networking and entertaining opportunities. Since its launch in 2006 the Capital Club has had an outstanding response to membership invitations, reflecting the international and cultural diversity of the region. The membership roster includes many of the leading business leaders of the region.

Empire Aviation Group (EAG) is a general business aviation company founded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2007 in response to the opportunity of the Middle East regional market for business aviation services. The company focuses on a distinctive asset management approach to private aviation and has assembled a highly experienced team of aviation specialists, led by an experienced owner/management team. EAG offers aircraft charter, aircraft sales and management and ancillary services and currently employs over 100 staff.

Despite the economic conditions – or because of them – new aircraft sales in the Middle East continue to drive growth for Dubai-based Empire Aviation Group, with UAE buyers proving to be especially active. A total of eight (8) aircraft – jets and turbo props - have been sold this year to UAE buyers, who are showing particular interest in models from Hawker Beechcraft (the world’s leading business, special mission and trainer aircraft manufacturer) for whom Empire Aviation Group is a GCC regional distributor, with exclusivity in some countries, including the UAE.

Six (6) aircraft including two (2) Beechcraft King Air 350 turboprops and a Hawker 4000 have been sold and will be delivered to their UAE owners, this year. According to the company, the new aircraft sales pipeline for 2010 is already very encouraging, following a very active sales year in 2009.The company has sold six (6) of the new Beechcraft Premier II jets in the UAE for deliveries starting in 2011.

The Beechcraft Premier II is a new light business jet and is the successor to the very successful Premier 1A. It features higher cruise speeds, 20 percent longer range with four passengers and increased payload, while still offering the largest cabin and most technologically advanced single-pilot business jet in the world. The Premier II’s performance, cabin and technology provides an attractive light jet option for pilot owners and business operators.

Dubai-based general aviation company, Empire Aviation Group (EAG) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the American based urban lifestyle company, JetSet Elite. EAG will exclusively market luxurious, all inclusive JetSet Elite travel packages. Based on intrinsic local knowledge and access, JetSet Elite now offers the ability to “Jet Globally, Set Locally” to clients in the Middle East through a new division established by EAG called ‘Lifestyle@Empire’.

The agreement will combine JetSet Elite’s luxury travel offer with EAG’s private jet charter business and the first exclusive packages will focus on major international sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa, Formula One Monaco and the Swedish Open tennis tournament.

Philippe Theodore, CEO of JetSet Elite, comments: “Without a doubt we are thrilled at the prospect of a strategic partnership with Empire Aviation Group. We see this as a unique opportunity to expand our reach into a new and very dynamic market through a company that has already experienced tremendous success and growth in the GCC region.”

Lifestyle@Empire is a new operating division and an extension of EAG’s existing private jet charter operations and capitalises on EAG’s fast growing charter fleet, which currently totals 15 jet aircraft – one of the largest fleets of private jets in the region.

Lifestyle@Empire will provide a range of services to clients including private jet charter, luxury ground transfers, hotel accommodation, and activities from sporting events to soirées at private residences, restaurant tastings with personalized menus and nightclub access with table service and accompanying JetSet Elite staff.

Caron Gledhill, Director of Corporate Affairs, Empire Aviation Group, adds: ”The agreement with JetSet Elite provides the perfect platform to launch Lifestyle@Empire, with a unique range of bespoke travel packages for discerning clients in the Middle East, with VIP access to some of the world’s most exciting activities - from skiing in the Andes or St Moritz, to time on members-only golf courses, parties on notable private yachts and supercar test drives with the cars’ designers and engineers. The common factor is the highly personalised luxury travel services that we offer and JetSet Elite’s global connections complement and extend the private luxury travel services that we already deliver for our clients through our jet charter business.”

Empire Aviation Group, the Dubai-based general aviation company, has become the first aircraft operator in the GCC to take delivery of the latest Hawker Beechcraft Corporation business jet – the Hawker 4000, a sophisticated and luxurious super-midsize aircraft. The H4000 is the first business jet made from advanced sophisticated composite materials and offers significantly lower operating costs to owners. The new, eight-seater, twin-engine H4000 was acquired from the manufacturer following the sale by EAG to an owner in the region and will be managed by EAG, as well as offered for charter. A further two H4000 aircraft sales have already been completed by EAG for delivery to the region in 2009-2010.

The Hawker 4000 is the first business aircraft with a fuselage constructed from advanced composite materials, which reduces the weight of the aircraft, increases performance and significantly reduces the operating costs. The composite material does not corrode or fatigue, and is stronger and lighter than aircraft fabricated from metals, resulting in lower costs and higher performance.

The H4000 can cruise at 514mph at an altitude of 45,000 feet, with a range of 3280 nautical miles, which puts within direct reach from Dubai, for example, destinations such as Paris, Singapore, Geneva, and Mauritius; with London accessible direct from Jeddah and Riyadh.

The aircraft offers one of the quietest cabins in the super midsize sector with all the amenities of far bigger aircraft and six feet of headroom for the full length of the cabin. Luxuries include finishes such as handcrafted galley cabinetry.

Due to the strength of the composites, the cabin pressurization system can maintain a very low cabin pressure when cruising at the 45,000 feet ceiling, which reduces fatigue and dehydration for passengers and crew.

“Composite materials have been used for many years in the manufacture of military aircraft and this technology is now being applied for the first time in the business jet sector by Hawker Beechcraft, and civil aviation is following this lead with the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner built on composite technology acquired from Hawker Beechcraft,“ says Empire Aviation Group Executive Director, Mr Steve Hartley. “EAG is very proud and excited to be the first in the region take a delivery of this aircraft which is probably 10 years ahead of other manufacturers. The owner - and our charter clients - will benefit from this new technology and the cost/performance that it delivers. In fact, Hawker Beechcraft Corporation is so confident about the new aircraft that it is guaranteeing the aircraft’s maintenance, charging a fixed fee per flying hour to cover all aircraft maintenance and even tyre wear, over the first five years of operation.”

The new aircraft joins EAG’s mixed fleet of business jets, one of the largest managed fleets in the region and which now comprises 13 aircraft (10 of which are available for charter), with another two to three aircraft expected to be added before the end of 2009, subject to delivery.

Empire Aviation Group is a GCC regional distributor (with exclusivity in some countries, including the UAE) for Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, the world’s leading business, special mission and trainer aircraft manufacturer.

Company’s managed fleet of aircraft grows to 12 jets and is set to grow further in 2009

Dubai-based Empire Aviation Group (EAG), the general aviation company which manages one of the region’s largest fleets of private jets on behalf of owners, has announced the latest addition to the fleet – a Gulfstream G450 intercontinental business jet which the company has brought under its management on behalf of a corporation based in the Middle East.

The aircraft will join EAG’s mixed fleet of business jets which now comprises 12 aircraft – nine of which are offered to the charter market. The company expects the fleet to grow to 15 aircraft by the end of 2009 – one of the largest managed fleet of private jets in the region - as the new and pre-owned business jet sales pipeline remains healthy.

The Gulfstream G450 is the best large-cabin, long-range business jet in its class, and is a direct descendent of the successful GIV-series aircraft. It has advanced avionics and is capable of a maximum operating speed of MACH 0.88 and an operating range of 4,350 nautical miles (8,056km), cruising at 41,000 feet.

The aircraft is configured to seat 16 passengers comfortably and has sleeper beds for six passengers. Its intercontinental range means that it can easily link Dubai with any of the major business centres in Europe and the Far East (including London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur), non-stop.

“The G450 is an excellent business jet and a tremendous asset to our growing fleet of managed aircraft, based in Dubai and serving international business and leisure clients,” says Paras Dhamecha, Executive Director at Empire Aviation Group. “The G450 offers excellent levels of comfort as well as fuel efficiency and competitive operating costs. Empire Aviation Group’s asset management approach to aircraft ownership means that we can help the owner to optimise the return on the investment by offering the aircraft to the charter market, which continues to perform well in the Middle East, and offsetting some of the fixed costs of aircraft ownership.”

According to Empire Aviation Group, the aircraft buying opportunity is especially attractive to private individuals who are cash buyers, as multinational companies continue to downsize and sell off assets. The company is continuing to work with buyers who recognise the current unique buying opportunity and is actively looking around the aviation world for aircraft on behalf of client.

“It is a buyers’ market for aircraft right now and this represents a tremendous opportunity,” adds Paras Dhamecha. “With aviation fuel prices at less than half their peak levels in 2008, and charter prices adjusted accordingly, private aviation continues to hold its own in the region and we are expecting 2009 to be a very strong year for us.”

If you’re a cash buyer in the market for a business jet, there has never been a better time to buy, according to Dubai-based Empire Aviation Group (EAG). The company has just completed a deal on behalf of a private buyer for a pre-owned Gulfstream G550 business jet which EAG acquired from a corporation in the US. The aircraft had flown just 30 hours and was bought for cash for a significant discount to 2008 prices. EAG is working with other buyers who recognise the unique buying opportunity and continues to scour the aviation world looking for aircraft on behalf of clients.

“There is an unprecedented buying opportunity for anyone who is looking for a business jet, especially if it is a cash transaction,” says Steve Hartley, Executive Director at Empire Aviation Group. “We are focusing now on saving significant sums for our clients as we source aircraft worldwide. There are still a lot of buyers for pre-owned and new business jets. For EAG, 2009 will be an outstanding year for our aircraft sales division, with at least three new aircraft in the order book for delivery this year, in addition to the pre-owned aircraft sales in the pipeline.”

According to Empire Aviation Group, the buying opportunity is especially attractive to private individuals who are cash buyers, as multinational companies continue to downsize and sell off assets. For buyers who require it, finance is still possible although not as easy or available as before, and the buyer will probably need a cash deposit of around 40 per cent of the purchase price.

“It’s a buyers’ market right now with prices of pre-owned aircraft at around 20 per cent lower than the 2008 prices. This represents a tremendous opportunity which we are taking advantage of in order to create value for our clients. These are the lowest prices we are ever likely to see for business jets and with aviation fuel prices at less than half their peak levels in 2008, and charter prices adjusted accordingly, private aviation continues to hold its own. As a result, we expect 2009 to be the company’s best year since we began operations,” says Steve Hartley.

The Gulfstream G550 is a large cabin, ultra long range business jet which can comfortably link major cities such as Dubai-Washington DC, London-Singapore, Tokyo-Paris, non stop. It can be configured for up to 18 passengers. The Empire Aviation Group acquired Gulfstream G550 will be managed by the owner, based outside the Middle East.

Air Travel Service To Enhance Access To Sir Bani Yas Island

Empire Aviation Group, a leading Arabian Gulf private jet operator, has entered into alliance with Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), a master developer of major cultural, residential and tourism destinations in Abu Dhabi, to supply and operate Cessna 208 Grand Caravan planes between the UAE and major TDIC destinations in the emirate.

The eight-seater single prop aircraft will primarily operate twice weekly every Thursday and Saturday from Abu Dhabi to Sir Bani Yas Island in the emirate’s Al Gharbia Western region. The service can also be chartered on demand as part of the accommodation package offered by Desert Islands Resort and Spa. Sir Bani Yas Island, which is 250 kilometres from the UAE capital, recently entered the tourism markets with the opening of the five-star, boutique Desert Islands Resort & Spa. Sir Bani Yas Island, a former Royal nature reserve and home to the Arabian Wildlife Park, is at the core of TDIC’s multi-experiential Desert Islands destination.

“The service provides travellers with easy access to Sir Bani Yas Island and further empowers Al Gharbia’s emerging tourism potential,” said Lee Tabler, CEO, TDIC. “Sir Bani Yas Island is a relaxing leisure retreat and adventure resort but is also shaping up as an exciting incentives and meetings destination and we envisage healthy demand for the charter service from the MICE sector.”

The charter service will operate from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Sir Bani Yas Airport and will land alongside the island’s main jetty terminal, close to a new visitor arrivals centre. Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) is managing and operating a new dedicated terminal, built by TDIC, on Sir Bani Yas Island.

“This service, with an approximately flight time of 50 minutes, will provide Sir Bani Yas visitors with a seamless travel experience and will enable them to maximise their time on this remarkable island,” said Paras Dhamecha, co-founder and Chief Executive Operator, Empire Aviation.

Under the ADAC/TDIC alliance the airport on Sir Bani Yas Island is being additionally upgraded to be a fully-certified airport capable of receiving domestic and short-haul international commercial flights. The full upgrade is due for completion by the end of 2010.