Jet Aviation will relocate to a larger facility at Riyadh’s King Khalid International airport later this year, and has announced further investments across its FBO network as it embarks on a global expansion programme.

The newly refurbished Riyadh facility will become operational in the fourth quarter of this year, marking the anniversary of Jet Aviation’s 40th year in Saudi Arabia. The two-storey, 6,460sq ft (600sq m) FBO will feature a large customer lounge, three VIP lounges, a meeting room on the ground floor and a crew lounge and office space on the upper level.

"With the expected traffic growth to Riyadh in the coming years, the additional space is necessary and offers great benefit in terms of passenger and crew comfort. As the country's capital and main business centre, Riyadh is a key strategic location for us and we are delighted to strengthen our brand through this investment," says Khaled Al Ghamdi, general manager of Jet Aviation in Saudi Arabia.

Jet Aviation has also broken ground on a new hangar and office space at its West Palm Beach, Florida FBO as part of its efforts to "expand and improve" its global FBO network, which now includes 35 locations.

Construction or renovation is now, or soon will be, under way at seven of Jet Aviation's US and Caribbean locations. This includes a new FBO and hangar complex at Van Nuys, California, as well as "significant renovations" at Dallas, Texas and Teterboro, New Jersey, as well as the replacement of a storm-damaged hangar in Houston, Texas.

Jet Aviation also announced at EBACE that it has signed an FBO service agreement with Paris-based business aviation operator Wijet, to provide handling services across its European FBO network. Wijet operates three HondaJets and expects to manage 16 of the type in the near future. Jet Aviation operates nine FBOs in Europe.

On the maintenance and refurbishment side, Jet Aviation has installed Ka-band satellite-based in-flight connectivity systems on a Boeing 747 BBJ and two Gulfstream GIVs at its Basel, Switzerland centre. In addition, the company performed its first Ka-band installations on Gulfstream G550 and G650 aircraft.

"With the 2020 [ADS-B] mandate quickly approaching, we've seen a lot of demand for Ka-band installations," says Erik Vandegrift, senior director programme management Gulfstream at Jet Aviation.

Find all the latest news, pictures, video and analysis from EBACE 2019 on our dedicated page.

Source: Flight Daily News

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