Business & GA

The Middle East has been a bright spot this year in an otherwise gloomy 12 months for business jet manufacturers.

"I wouldn't say demand has increased, but I would say demand is quite healthy in this region," says Bombardier regional vice president - sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa Khader Mattar. "It has been less impacted by the downturn than the USA and Europe."

Mattar adds financing has not been a challenge in the Middle East as local banks remain eager to finance business jets and the risk of default for Middle Eastern customers is lower.

Bombardier does not provide breakdown by region its business jet delivery and order figures, but Mattar says the portion of deliveries to the Middle East and other growth markets such as China and India has been steadily increasing in recent years.

He says historically the Middle East has been mainly a market for large long-range business jets, but "this has changed over the years" because "there are now more entrepreneurs trying to do business regionally. That has increased the demand for smaller airplanes."

He says Qatar and Lebanon in particular have developed into strong markets for small business jets. "In Lebanon, surprisingly, people are demanding more small airplanes although from a small base," Mattar says.

Overall he says Saudi Arabia remains the largest business jet market in the Middle East followed by the UAE and "surprisingly Egypt." Bombardier claims to have a 19% share of the Middle Eastern business jet market, making it the largest business jet manufacturer in the region. But Mattar acknowledges it is hard to calculate market share figures in the Middle East because many business jets based in the region are registered overseas.

Bombardier is showcasing five of its business jets at the static display - the Learjet 60XR, Challenger, 300, Challenger 605, Challenger 850 and Global Express XRS. Mattar says the manufacturer is demonstrating some of the aircraft to potential customers throughout the Middle East as part of a regional tour before and after the air show.

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