US FBO operator XJet is taking its membership model to the Gulf with two new facilities due to open next year – one in Saudi Arabia’s oil capital Dammam and one here at Dubai World Central.
The Denver-based company will announce in a press conference tomorrow that it has won a five-year “licence of exclusivity” to operate in the eastern Saudi city. It plans to begin construction next year and use an temporary building in the meantime.
XJet had already revealed plans for its Dubai development in 2008, with opening a year later, but has now finally completed the formalities that will allow it to begin construction of the four-hangar FBO next year and launch in time for the Dubai air show in November, says president Josh Stewart. There will be two hangars initially, with two more to follow in “phase two” of the project.
XJet, which is moving its global headquarters from Colorado to DWC, has also just taken over the former Diamond hangar at London’s Stansted airport in a multi-year lease deal, and intends expanding to Paris’s Le Bourget airport shortly.
The company launched its “seven-star membership scheme” with its hangar at Denver’s Centennial Airport in 2007. Stewart says XJet’s philosophy was a reaction to the fact that FBOs in North America “had not changed their gas station business model in 70 years”.
He adds: “We promised to provide world-class hangars, transparent economics and a seven-star service based on the sort of product our clients would expect from the top concierge providers.”
Unlike rivals such as Jet Aviation and ExecuJet, XJet does not offer maintenance or aircraft management. Members pay an annual fee per aircraft which guarantees them hangarage and use of the FBO facilities.
Stewart believes the Dammam FBO, the first at the airport, will attract operators from other nearby airports in the region, such as Bahrain.
There are concerns that the still fledgling DWC will become oversupplied with FBOs. DC Aviation, ExecuJet, Jet Aviation and JetEx all operate from the new airport, although only DC has a fully-fledged hangar and dedicated terminal.
However, Stewart believes that as more business aviation moves from the increasingly congested Dubai International – home to Emirates and served by dozens of airlines – DWC will become an “absolute hub” for VIP traffic.
Source: Flight Daily News
