Altitudes Arabia

XP Interview-Mike Berry-AA09_XP Interview-Mike Berry-AA09 09/12/09 18:32 Page70 INTERVIEW 70 I ALTITUDESARABIA XP Interview-Mike Berry-AA09_XP Interview-Mike Berry-AA09 09/12/09 18:32 Page71 INTERVIEW TICKING ALL THE BOXES WITH A COMPREHENSIVE AVIATION SERVICE OFFERING MIKE BERRY EXECUJET MIDDLE EAST ExecuJet’s Middle East MRO/FBO sits neatly between the Dubai Airport Free Zone and the Dubai Airport runway, with enviable views of the busy apron and its endless stream of arrivals and departures. One of just three FBOs at Dubai Airport, Middle East Managing Director, Mike Berry, credits the amazing fore- sight of his business’ shareholders for the coveted location – the worldwide ExecuJet Aviation Group joined forces with local partner, Alpha Middle East Holdings, as far back as 1999, when general aviation in the region really was in its infancy, to secure the first independent organisation Air Operator’s Cer- tificate from the UAE aviation authorities. In 2005, with executive aviation in the region enjoying heady growth, ExecuJet Middle East was well-established and able to lay claim to a share of the limited airport space to develop its facilities. Ten diverse years from launch, Berry continues to lay praise on the group’s successful international business model, but is also justifiably proud of the local ExecuJet Middle East achievements. BY Philippa Barr ALTITUDESARABIA I 71 XP Interview-Mike Berry-AA09_XP Interview-Mike Berry-AA09 09/12/09 18:32 Page72 INTERVIEW Altitudes Arabia: What do you know of the early years of the busi- ExecuJet no longer owns aircraft in the Middle East, but today we have ness in the UAE? a managed fleet of 19 – eight are partially managed (the meaning of Mike Berry: That our founders had great vision to dedicate resources this varies but generally it refers to aircraft on which we do all the main- to an industry that really did not exist yet! They started with a Learjet tenance tracking and maintenance management but do not provide all 60, closely followed by a Challenger 604, which they owned and char- of the crew, dispatch services or insurance) and the rest fully managed. tered. From records we gather the Lear 60 aircraft did not actually fly Not all are made available for charter – in fact, around half of those much; the concept of charter was very new here and most of the exe- previously chartered have been withdrawn at present, reflecting the cutive jets that were in the air were large, not little things like the Lear state of the market at the need to reduce flexible costs. Our owners 60. But despite low activity levels, running the aircraft created a pre- are from throughout the region, though the only AOC we hold in the sence in the region, and ExecuJet became a known name. A strong re- region is in UAE (along with seven others held by ExecuJet Aviation lationship between ExecuJet and Bombardier pre-dates ExecuJet Group around the world). Middle East, though in fact Bombardier was making advances into the region at around the same time, so our having two aircraft in operation AA: How have you seen the market change in recent years? was also a help to them. MB: It was incredible to see the number of players drawn to the aviation Over the years since launch, we gradually built up a maintenance pre- hype in the region during the boom time. At one stage I think the num- sence on the airport before the opportunity arose to develop the FBO, ber of applications for UAE AOCs reached into double figures, though I which we opened in December 2005. Entering a region during this early have not seen them all emerge at the end of the process – they may phase of an industry’s growth is a model that has worked well for Exe- have pulled out or simply delayed their business plans. Undoubtedly cuJet, and you can see they are still doing it, with recent inroads into some of those in action today have very good business models – as an China and India; they are not afraid to commit resources to new re- established organisation we helped a number of them during the gions, developing facilities and investing in staff. Our staff numbers growth phase, and we see some regularly through our FBO and in main- here in Dubai grew markedly at the point at which we opened the FBO tenance if they operate Bombardier aircraft or the Gulfstream models and MRO; investing in aviation in this region really is a long term com- that we handle. Each operator tries to differentiate themselves with ser- mitment because you cannot build flexibility into your workforce the vice offerings or commercial terms, but all those involved in executive way you could in Europe or the US. You need to attract qualified staff, aviation have to work together – even on charters, we need to be able and keep them even through lulls in activity. to liaise and arrange sub-charters if we cannot provide our own aircraft. 72 I ALTITUDESARABIA XP Interview-Mike Berry-AA09_XP Interview-Mike Berry-AA09 09/12/09 18:32 Page73 INTERVIEW However, the industry is still in pre-maturity and we can expect a lot more change before the pattern of players really stabilises. In terms of activity levels, we of course enjoyed the boom years of the mid 2000s. A drop-off in activity levels reached us later than the rest of the world – initially it struck the smaller aircraft, then the wide-bo- dies, and gradually the drop in charter activity fed into a drop in maintenance activity since the fewer hours that an aircraft is in the air, the less quickly scheduled maintenance deadlines come around. Summer and Ramadan 2009 were exceptionally quiet – it was extraordinary, even relative to the low season lull in previous years. But on a brighter note, October has been much, much better. We have seen a turnaround of over 100 percent in both charters and transit through the FBO, ex- ceeding our average 120-aircraft per month average, even prior to the surge driven by the Airshow. During the quiet months we dedicated ExecuJet Middle East resources: our maintenance staff to internal works and equipment servicing, and encouraged them to undertake training or take leave, so we can confi- • Fleet of 19 managed aircraft including dently expect fewer disruptions as the pick up comes. 4 available for charter AA: You were a founding member of MEBAA (the Middle East Busi- • 24/7 charter call centre ness Aviation Association). What are your thoughts on MEBAA today? • UAE GCAA Air Operator’s Certificate MB: I know that views are definitely mixed, especially from those out- side the UAE that feel MEBAA’s focus is too much on the one country • Bombardier Authorised Service Facility in terms of the MEBAA air show. MEBAA has also suffered with the • Gulfstream Authorised Warranty Repair Centre downturn, as the success of such an organisation is dependent on • EASA 145 Certified membership growth, which has been harder to come by as businesses tighten their belts. Broadly speaking, though, the objective of MEBAA • New and pre-owned sales agency was to give credibility to business aviation as segment of the aviation • Conveniently located Dubai Airport FBO industry in the Middle East, and it has certainly achieved that, attrac- with discrete passenger lounge, customs ting worldwide interest and earning the respect of established peer or- ganisations around the world. Not so many people know it, but MEBAA and immigration service and crew facilities has also played an integral role in bringing various training and deve- • Complete flight support service lopment programs to the region, which have helped to improve safety and operating standards. They deserve full credit for this. You have to remember that MEBAA is a growing body, and they cannot expect to achieve everything overnight. nue. In a normal climate, both sales and charters would contribute AA: How important are the different parts of the ExecuJet business, more, but they have been slow during 2009. The FBO is smaller – it is and what plans do you have for growth? more of a front for the business, providing good leads for other areas. MB: Traditionally, the ExecuJet Aviation Group around the world depen- We would like to build on the opportunity presented by the FBO, raise ded largely on aircraft sales, but they wisely changed their business it to the levels of ExecuJet FBOs around the world, but we do have some model over the last decade to equate the balance with the service side limitations imposed by Dubai Airports’ regulations, and we have to of the business. It would have been much more difficult to survive the work within those. downturn on sales alone, though I believe we have gained some ground Although we have had staff positioned in different locations throu- with the mutual cessation of our former global exclusivity agreement ghout the region to meet owner needs, we have also for some time with Bombardier. Whilst our relationship with the Canadian OEM re- been considering further expansion opportunities in the Middle East. mains strong – particularly in this region – we are now free to choose At the right time, we will do this. I believe Qatar offers a lot of oppor- from a wider selection of products, recommending the most appropriate tunity at the moment. We were also one of the first to put our names model for our clients needs, whichever the manufacturer may be. down to secure space at Al Maktoum International.

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