Under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and the support of His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, and under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Chairman of Royal Jet, the luxury executive flight services company based in the UAE, announced the acquisition of Augusta Bell AB139, a medium twin-engine helicopter and the Avro RJ 70 on November 22, 2005 at the Dubai Air Show.
“By launching the AB139 and the Avro RJ 70 we have expanded our private air charter services,” said His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Chairman, Royal Jet. “Adding these aircraft to our luxury fleet means we can offer our customers a variety of services besides private air charter and help fulfill our clients’ diverse needs for luxury, privacy and accessibility.”
With the latest safety features, the AB139 is capable of carrying up to 15 passengers or 2,500 KG useful load, at 157 knots, with the most spacious cabin in its class. The AB139 combines the benefits of proven technology and the latest new-generation system integration and compliance with the demanding JAR/FAR 29 standards.
The RJ70 is manufactured by BAe (British Aerospace), well suited to the Middle East environment with an outstanding interior that presents cabin flexibility for business class offerings. With a capacity of 30-40 seats in corporate configuration, the RJ70 has a maximum range of has a range of 1650 nautical miles, enabling it to operate from Abu Dhabi to far away destinations like Mumbai, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Ankara and Tashkent. A total of 380 BAe 146/Avro RJs were built, making it Britain's most successful jetliner. The jet has excellent airfield performance allowing unique access to sensitive city centre airports and to remote and poorly equipped short strip airfields, making it more convenient to private operators. The RJ70 is still in service with world class airlines such as Lufthansa, British Airways SWISS, SN Brussels - many of the mentioned airlines are either currently adding new aircraft or extending leases. The aircraft is commonly used by Heads of State in the UK, Indonesia and Uzbekistan as well as for corporate operation in the USA, Middle East and in the UK.
“In addition to the AB139 and the RJ70, we have also added two Dauphin helicopters to diversify and complement our growing aircraft fleet. The acquisition of these helicopters will encourage our customers to hire private helicopters for a variety of purposes ranging from business trips, to site seeing tours around the region to arrival ceremonies at weddings and other events. All Royal Jet aircraft use state-of-the-art equipment and we have carefully selected highly skilled helicopter operators,” His Excellency added.
An active leader in the air charter and services industry, Royal Jet hosted the first Middle East Business Aviation Conference (MEBA), a Royal Jet initiative launched to examine the growing needs of the business jet sector. MEBA was held on November 19, 2005, under the dual patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Department of Civil Aviation, Government of Dubai and His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Public Works and Chairman of Royal Jet.
