Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Abu Dhabi’s Royal Jet expands into Asia

By Shane McGinley

Abu Dhabi’s Royal Jet is expanding into Asia with plans to acquire a share of a private aviation business located close to Kuala Lumpur.

It is buying the Malaysian aviation business operated by Sapura Resources Berhad at Subang International Airport.

“We are keen to expand our business in Asia,” Mohammed Husain Ahmed, CEO of Royal Jet, was quoted as saying in a press statement on Monday.

“The ongoing discussions with Sapura Resources Berhad’s aviation business offers promising opportunities.”

The announcement comes as a senior executive at a charter jet firm in Dubai told AGBI that the private aviation business is set for widespread consolidation.

Youssef Mouallem, executive vice president of Vista Global based in Dubai, said the sector was historically fragmented, but he was expecting to see more mergers and acquisitions.

“Businesses will consolidate and we will have a few big players in the industry, rather than a lot of the small players we see today,” Mouallem said. 

The private aviation industry has grown steadily since the pandemic, after a sharp rise in 2020 when Covid restrictions grounded scheduled flights.

In 2022 worldwide activity was 10 percent higher than in 2021 and 14 percent up on the 2019 figure, according to data firm WingX.

For an inside view on the latest news from the private aviation sector watch the full video

Latest articles

Saudi US China Amit Medha

Saudi Arabia willing to drop China for US tech alliance

Saudi Arabia will sever technology ties with China if the United States compels it to, the chief executive officer of Alat, an investment company backed by $100 billion in capital from the Public Investment Fund, has revealed. According to Bloomberg US officials have told their Saudi Arabian counterparts that they will have to decide between […]

Investors at the Dubai Financial Market. Drake & Scull was suspended from trading in 2018

Drake & Scull losses narrow before return to trading

Dubai contractor Drake & Scull International has trimmed its losses in the first quarter of this year as it nears the end of a drawn-out capital restructuring process. The Dubai-based utilities and infrastructure engineering company said in a press release accompanying disclosures to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) that revenue jumped 55 percent year on […]

Gas Pump, Machine, Pump

Adnoc Distribution to expand as earnings rise

Adnoc Distribution plans to open 15 to 20 more fuelling stations in 2024 after opening eight in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the year so far. The expansion increased fuel and non-fuel sales, driving revenue up by over 9 percent year on year to AED8.7 billion ($2.4 billion) in the three months to […]

Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, said last month that he expects the first phase of the project to be completed in 2025

Iraq forges ahead with plans for first big solar plant

Iraq is proceeding with its first large-scale solar plant, which will be constructed by France’s TotalEnergies. The 1GW plant will be built in Basra, southern Iraq, as part of a $27 billion investment agreement for an integrated project that includes four oil, gas and renewables facilities. According to reports it will supply clean electricity equivalent […]