Why Arab Wings is the name to remember

The company was the first to offer VIP charters in the region on a commercial basis, having been created from the royal flight team serving the late King Hussein, which was then operated as part of the Royal Jordanian airline.

Today the company is recognised as one of the leaders for quality across the whole of the MENA region and is expanding its reach.

Earlier this year the company said it was on the hunt for a European acquisition as its owner embarks on an expansion strategy that includes new offshoots in Sharjah and Bahrain , as well as an aviation university.

The holding company that owns Arab Wings also owns the Royal Jordanian Air Academy and the Queen Noor Civil Aviation Technical College in Amman . Both training operations were merged into a new university in September, offering degrees and other courses in every aspect of aviation. (see separate story).

Arab Wings, with a dozen aircraft under its management, has established Gulf Wings in Sharjah and is preparing to launch Luxury Wings in Bahrain . Both of these ventures are planned to operate with local air operator’s certificates. Chief executive Ahmad Abu Ghazaleh said even with the financial downturn he expects Gulf Wings to have up to 20 aircraft under management by the end of the year.

The company has an impressively diverse fleet on its managed books, including a Gulfstream G450, several Challenger 604 and 605, two Hawker 800 XPs, Cessna Citation Sovereigns and a CJ1+, as well as Beech 1900D and a King Air B200.

Chairman Mohammed Abu Ghazaleh said the goal is for the Arab Wings name to lay claim to the top-of-the mind recall among VIPs and business executives across the region. “We expect to acquire a more diverse fleet that will meet our increasing demand for both business and leisure travel.”

According to marketing head, Dima Elayyan, awareness of the Royal Wings brand is already working. “As the first to provide executive aviation in the Middle East , people know us. When they try us they find the service standards are so much higher. We are applying those service standards to smaller aircraft as well.”

The company will be the first in the Middle East to receive the Embraer Phenom 300. It will also be at the other end of the scale with the new luxury large-cabin Embraer 1000, as well as gaining several Global Express ultra-long-range aircraft. Through its links with the training academies, it will also have the entry-level Phenom 100.

“There are so many different requirements here,” said Elayyan. “We are close to Beirut , Syria , Iraq and to Europe . With our Bahrain AOC we will work closer with Saudi Arabia . We have an ideal fleet.”

Arab Wings has been working closely with banks to support financing deals for people wanting to buy aircraft and put them through the company’s managed fleet.

“By working closer with the owners we can make sure they get the best deals and they can see that we are the right people to manage their aircraft.”

The company’s commitment to its customers doesn’t end with the red carpet treatment at the Marka Airport FBO. It has signed an agreement with Al-Markazia, the Jordanian Lexus dealer, to provide a chauffeur-driven limousine for all Arab Wings’ clients.