Why RAK is just right for RamJet

 Issam Sultan, the general manager of RamJet Aviation Support, has always been confident about his service company being based in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) – away from the big guns of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“We started off nearly a decade ago as a small business in a remote corner of the Middle East. We have come a long way since our humble beginnings, but we’re happy being in Ras Al Khaimah,” said Sultan.

“Being a relatively small company, we try and keep our costs down to a certain limit. There is no need to interact with our clients face-to-face, so actually we could run the company from anywhere, but the infrastructure in RAK is more or less the same as Dubai. It has the same telecommunications and the same banking sectors, but the cost of living is much cheaper than Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and as we reduce our costs we in turn pass on the saving to our customers, so why would we want to be in any other emirate? 

“We were one of the first to set up shop in the UAE, and business is great for us here.”

RamJet Aviation Support takes care of the needs of operators, from ground handling, to permits, and charter services.

“We offer our clients an easy and hassle-free service,” explained Sultan. “Our services extend from pre-flight to post-landing scenarios. Most operators will find services of a ground handling agent essential. We coordinate with various agencies around the world well in advance to ensure a speedy clearance of passengers, crew and baggage, as well as provide various services and equipment to take care of the aircraft. For established clients, we also offer credit handling.”

RamJet supports long and short flight permits for the Middle East region, as well as Africa and the Far East.

“Permits can be the biggest hurdle operators face, but it’s not a problem for us thanks to our relationship with the civil aviation authority,” said Sultan.  “If our client requires support in Africa with permits and ground handling we can coordinate that. We’re basically an extension to their flight centre.”

Sultan likes to keep his private clients exactly that way… private.

“We have a lot of clients from private backgrounds and it stays private,” he said. “Actually, another great reason for us to be located in Ras Al Khaimah is that it helps keep our clients low-profile, unlike Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.”

RamJet also offers air charter passenger services, air charter cargo service and ACMI leasing as well as extending its services to providing catering and organising accommodation.

“We have strong connections to the most established airline caterers and can shoulder the responsibility of offloading used food and beverage and on-loading fresh food and beverage based on the clients’ budget and dietary preferences,” said Sultan.

“And for people needing accommodation booking, we can arrange a hotel for clients and crew from a wide range of hotels and resorts within budget.”

RamJet has strong relationships with a number of suppliers, as well as having contracts with all the major airports in the UAE and the region in countries including; Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait – as well as extending out to India and Pakistan.

“If an airport is operating a flight and they need help, they call us and we will arrange everything for them,” said Sultan. “We don’t work closely with one particular airport, we are spread all over. I would say 80% of the business we get is outside of the UAE.  But we do expect to get more business at RAK airport as we get more leads. 

“There is a lot of marketing by the RAK Government to show it as a tourist destination. Since early this year, we are getting more and more enquiries within the emirate.

“RAK is a growing emirate with a lot of potential. In the last few years we have seen the presence of charter operators seeking to operate more flights in to RAK Airport as a tourist destination. And I see more SMEs prospering here.”

Sultan added: “To do a tech stop you’re better off here than many of the other emirates. It’s easy to obtain, you land and your crew are in and out, unlike Dubai for instance, where people are sat taxiing for half an hour to pa