The Royal Jet BBJ R6RJV interior. There are eight first-class, lie-flat seats, eight business-class seats, and a separate section at the back with 18 economy-sized seats. Courtesy Royal Jet
The Royal Jet BBJ R6RJV interior. There are eight first-class, lie-flat seats, eight business-class seats, and a separate section at the back with 18 economy-sized seats. Courtesy Royal Jet

Abu Dhabi’s Royal Jet offers VIP alternative to travelling first class



If you fill a large executive jet with passengers then it can work out a lot cheaper than flying everybody in first or business class on a scheduled flight. Plus you get all the advantages of customised travel to smaller airfields with rapid VIP transit facilities and the opportunity to choose your own flight times.

Abu Dhabi’s Royal Jet, for example, can fly a party of 34 in a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) to London forabout US$150,000 return, rather less than the cost of flying the same group in premium classes.

Royal Jet took delivery of its latest BBJ last week, a buy which according to Rob DiCastri, the company’s president and chief executive, is already proving popular with customers.

”We have taken numerous orders already, with the schedule filling up quickly,” he says.

To give a flavour of the experience, Royal Jet invited the media for a demonstration flight to circle Abu Dhabi. The airline has its own VIP terminal at the back of Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Once inside there’s a comfortable waiting lounge with canapés and passport formalities are quickly sorted out. Then it’s a few minutes’ walk to your waiting plane outside.

The Edese Doret-designed interior boasts a cosy bedroom with en suite marble-effect bathroom, but no shower. Then there are eight first-class, lie-flat seats, eight business-class seats, and a separate section at the back with 18 economy-sized seats.

There is LED mood lighting controlled from an iPad, individual TV screens with limited video content options and large conference or dining tables between the forward and backward-facing seats in the front cabin.

Eliminating the overhead luggage racks creates a much more spacious cabin than a normal Boeing 737, although I felt the design a little heavy on chrome around the windows and table.

This is the first BBJ in the world to be equipped with high-speed broadband Wi-Fi to allow the streaming of live TV and Netflix.

In the cockpit the aircraft benefits from Enhanced Vision System technology for safer landing in bad visibility such as fog and useful in smaller airports without the most advanced aviation guidance systems.

Q&A

Royal Jet’s Rob DiCastri tells ­Peter Cooper more about the company:

Who is Royal Jet?

We are the region’s leading VVIP executive jet operator, winning the regional World Travel Association award for the past nine years, flying 8,000-10,000 charter hours a year. Royal Jet has operated for 13 years. Our primary role is as a back up to the UAE Presidential Flight with a fleet of 13 aircraft, of which seven are the larger Boeing 737 business jets rather than the more normal small executive jets.

How’s business?

It’s a tough market. We are selling off our smaller jets because it takes 50-60 hours a month of charter to break even, and the demand is just not there. The majority of our customers are from the UAE ministries, major families and a smaller number of corporates.

Growth plans?

We want to grow but in a smart way. The pie has shrunk and competition is fierce. The days of ordering planes and hoping for customers are over.

Can you really compete with first class?

Yes, this is an industry trend with consolidators like Jetsmarter selling individual seats on executive jets, and we work with them too. They are doing for us what booking.com has done for hotels. Indeed, we can offer more than first class on a scheduled airline as you can order your favourite food – even if you want McDonald’s and KFC – arrive 15 minutes before your flight, travel to small airports, follow your own schedule and do business in private on the aircraft. Baggage allowances are also way higher.

business@thenational.ae

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The biog

Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists. 

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic 

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
The Bio

Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959

Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.

He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses

Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas

His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s

Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business

He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery 

Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all