Leading Media Experts Sound Bullish Forecast For Middle East Business Aviation Award-Winning Media Due In Dubai For Headline Meba Participation

The world’s leading business aviation media experts are due in Dubai later this month to play a key role in the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) event being held at the Airport Expo on January 31st and February 1st.
 
Wilson Leach, Managing Director and Charles Alcock, International Editor of Aviation International News will join John Morris, Editor of McGraw Hill’s Show News and Alan Peaford, Editor Flight Daily News and author of the ‘Pocket Guide To Business Aircraft’ at MEBA where all four are to moderate panel discussions on the latest issues impacting the sector.
 
And ahead of their visit to Dubai all four award-winners have sounded upbeat forecasts for the region’s business aviation industry saying it is outstripping its Asian counterpart and bucking Western trends.
 
“Business aviation in the Middle East will grow exponentially as the regional economy expands and diversifies and as the Middle East develops business ties throughout Europe and Asia,” said Morris. “The emergence of the private entrepreneur, and governments’ encouragement of private enterprise can only drive demand for business aircraft.”
 
Alcock believes business aviation in the region is just now coming into its own after years of positive industry indications.
 
“The long-anticipated growth of business aviation is definitely taking shape in the Middle East. Demand for business aviation products and services appears to be outstripping supply, and manufacturers which have remained committed to the region over the years are beginning to reap the fruit of their investment. Interestingly, growth in the Middle East is not following the familiar western pattern of customers starting with the smallest-available aircraft. In many cases, Middle Eastern customers are getting into business aviation with aircraft that are much larger and more capable than so-called entry-level products.”
 
Meanwhile, Alan Peaford has predicted further growth for the sector in the region insisting major diversification will characterize the Middle East industry.
 
“We will see some manufacturing moving to the Middle East. We will see more charter operators and I believe that within five years we will see the development of air taxis – whether that be fixed wing small business jets or helicopters – to create a new market for fast, individually-targeted, city links. This will improve both public and private sector activities and aid further economic development. We see how much the aircraft manufacturers are focusing on the Middle East, that tells us just how much opportunity there is for the industry in this part of the world.”
 
The experts also hailed the emergence of the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) as a positive step in driving further growth in the regional sector.
 
“The new association should bring greater cohesion and sense of common purpose to the business aviation community in the Middle East,” said Leach. “It also has important work to do in convincing governments in the region to remove unhelpful barriers to market growth and excessive bureaucratic restrictions on aircraft operations.”
 
Morris too sees MEBAA as taking a key development role.
 
“The Association will become a valuable forum to help accelerate the use of business aircraft throughout the region – a voice to facilitate acceptance as a business tool and increased access through development of infrastructure.”
 
MEBAA’s emergence is, according to Peaford, “vital” for the region to be taken seriously.
 
“There is fragmentation in the way different states in the region handle business aviation. I would hope that MEBAA will work with governments to iron out issues such as regulation, compliance and general operational and safety procedures. The more the Middle East aviation authorities work together, the more the region will benefit. It is the Association’s responsibility to make this happen,” he said.
 
MEBA has emerged from a one-day conference staged alongside the 2005 Dubai Airshow into a two-day conference and exhibition with a static park display. With 32  aircraft due and over 90 exhibitors from 19 countries, including the industry’s major mainframe suppliers, MEBA has quickly entered the ranks of the world’s leading business aviation gatherings.
 
Leach believes MEBA’s development is a weathervane to the state of the regional industry.
 
“The growing scope and scale of MEBA is visible evidence that business aviation is an idea whose time has come for the Middle East. It signals the industry’s intent to provide a show in the region and for the region.
 
Despite the regional sector’s growth Peaford believes the Middle East still has a way to go in waking up to the many benefits of business aviation.
 
“We are seeing unprecedented growth of business aviation in the Middle East – both inward and outward. There are huge opportunities for organizations in the region to develop their activities in this sector and therefore the expansion of MEBA is not a surprising one,” he said.
 
MEBA, which is under the patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Department of Civil Aviation, Government of Dubai and Chairman, Emirates Group, is organised by Fairs & Exhibitions (F&E), the name behind the Dubai Airshow, in partnership with MEBAA.
 
“International, regional and local response to this initiative has been intense and the stage is now set for a probing forum which we anticipate will produce some strategic initiatives going forward and an industry showcase where key partnerships will be formed,” said Alison Weller, Director Aerospace, F&E.