Royal Jet, an international luxury executive flight services company based in Abu Dhabi, said there has been a 15 per cent rise in VIP charter bookings over the summer period when compared to last year.

Royal Jet, under the chairmanship of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, is witnessing a strong demand from within the GCC thanks to a steady stream of bookings from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, said a top company official.

“We are finding that there is a trend for our guests to make their bookings much later than what they used to, often leaving this to within two to four days of when they wish to travel,” said Royal Jet president and CEO Shane O’Hare.

“But we are finding that within the GCC there is strong demand – with a steady stream of bookings from Qatar and, especially, Saudi Arabia, where our recent alliance with Arabasco has led to a surge of interest from the Kingdom," he noted.

“In part, this is also down to our new pricing policy that we introduced a few months ago within the Gulf region whereby the previous way we calculated our prices was based on where the actual aircraft originated from, whereas now we price the charter from where the guests commence their flight. This has led to dramatic reductions in charter rates – sometimes by as much as 20 per cent.”

Shane O’Hare also confirmed that there has been an excellent response to the introduction of Royal Jet’s own charter brokerage service, based in Dubai, which started operations six months ago.

“We have been very happy with the initial level of bookings being generated through our own brokerage, which provides complete tailor-made travel solutions through sourcing appropriate aircraft for charter through a network of carefully audited operators,” O’Hare added.

"There is especially strong demand for flights into and out of Europe; but with the brokerage being a global service, we can find the right aircraft at the best price for any request for any journey," he said.

"No matter what the request, we are now able to guarantee availability even if our own aircraft are fully booked, since through our brokerage we can make alternative travel arrangements, sourcing aircraft from other quality operators for our guests."

"But at no time do we compromise on our own very high standards of safety, security and service. This is what our customers expect from us as part of our service guarantee," O’Hare stated.

According to him, Royal Jet’s strategy has been one of diversification into a number of different service offerings which has protected the company from the worst of the economic turbulence.

“The brokerage service is a key aspect of Royal Jet’s growth strategy and is in line with the company’s policy of increasing diversification into a range of complementary activities which also include FBO [Fixed Base Operations] facilities, an aircraft management and acquisition consultancy, medical evacuation services and the core aircraft charter business,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service