A new analysis from Global Jet Capital reveals that 69.4% of business aircraft in the Middle East are medium sized to large jets. This is more than three times the figure for the global fleet, of which 18.4% are in that size bracket. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates top the list with highest number of business jets in the Middle East.
Over the past five years, 127 new mid-sized to large business aircraft have been delivered to the Middle East, with the UAE receiving the greatest number with 32 aircraft, followed by Turkey (30) and Saudi Arabia (22).
While the Middle East accounts for just 1.9% of the world’s business aircraft, 7.4% of all medium sized to large jets around the globe are based in the region.
| Current business aviation fleet | |||||
| Country | Midsize | Heavy | Jet Airliner | Total fleet | Proportion of total fleet which are mid, heavy and jet airliner |
| Saudi Arabia | 21 | 85 | 28 | 184 | 72.8% |
| Turkey | 41 | 70 | 2 | 171 | 66.1% |
| United Arab Emirates | 6 | 93 | 9 | 145 | 74.5% |
| Israel | 8 | 26 | 14 | 100 | 48.0% |
| Iran | 14 | 6 | 6 | 45 | 57.8% |
| Kuwait | 3 | 21 | 6 | 32 | 93.8% |
| Jordan | 0 | 15 | 1 | 29 | 55.2% |
| Qatar | 1 | 21 | 4 | 27 | 96.3% |
| Lebanon | 10 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 73.9% |
| Oman | 1 | 11 | 4 | 17 | 94.1% |
| Rest of Middle East | 6 | 25 | 7 | 51 | 74.5% |
| All Middle East | 111 | 378 | 83 | 824 | 69.4% |
| GLOBAL | 3,106 | 4,122 | 524 | 42,082 | 18.4% |
Global Jet Capital has over $1 billion to lend to clients purchasing business jets and says the bulk of these purchases will be based on leases and loans. The company currently finances over 300 business aircraft for clients.
Simon Davies, Vice President Sales, Middle East and India for Global Jet Capital, spoke at the Corporate Jet Investor Dubai event and examined the issue of aircraft financing. He said: “The Middle East business aviation market is heavily weighted towards larger aircraft with typical purchase prices ranging from US$25-75million. Up to 80% of this will be sourced through external financing and as these types of aircraft are our specialism we are seeing an increasing number of enquiries from clients in the region.”
