Meet the Etihad Airways captain who owns around 900 planes


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

Like most pilots, Ben Matar is not currently flying as much as usual.

But as the owner of around 900 planes, he still sees plenty of aircraft.

The Etihad Airways captain owns what he believes to be the largest collection of metal model planes in the UAE, which he estimates to be worth more than Dh330,000 ($90,000).

And just like the full-size versions now parked up at terminals around the world due to coronavirus, the biggest issue he faces is insufficient storage space.

“Sometimes I like to display them in different ways," said the Australian, who flies Boeing 777 and 787 commercial jets.

"I take them all out and display them in aircraft types, like 777 or 380s, all together.

“But now I have gone back and displayed them in airlines, so I have put all the Etihad ones together and so on. Often I just walk past and have a look at them.”

Mr Matar, who lives in a three-bedroom apartment in Abu Dhabi, first became interested in model planes when he was a child, when he built them from kits.

Ben Matar with his collection. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Ben Matar with his collection. Chris Whiteoak / The National

But as he got older he discovered the collectible die-cast versions, which he displays in cabinets around his home.

The issue he has with storage is compounded by the fact that he also keeps the boxes the aircraft come in.

“I have some models that are probably worth about $400, $500 or $600 each," he said. "But in order to get those prices you have to keep all the boxes.

“So I have a whole storage room downstairs full of big packing boxes, with the boxes with the models inside, not only for if I was to sell any but if I move house I have to pack them.”

Mr Matar, 41, said he kept a thorough record of every model he owns on a spreadsheet, including aircraft registration and airline.

He said most collectors tended to focus on buying specific airlines or aircraft types, although he did not.

Instead, his collection is inspired by the planes he sees while flying around the world.

He owns at least one model plane from all of the world’s major airlines, and all of the aircraft he has ever flown.

“I used to just buy pretty much everything," he said. "But now I have so many I am a bit more choosy in what I collect.

“What I want to do one day is actually set up a scale airport, a terminal or something. You can buy all the little refuelling trucks and the stairs, so I have a lot of that as well.

“It’s important if you have all the stuff you display them correctly.”

Mr Matar, who has worked for Etihad for seven years, said a really good model featured all the details you would expect to see on a real airplane.

His are all on the same scale, at 1/200 the size of the real thing. “I don’t like to mix and match because then it’s not realistic," he said of his collection.

The specs

Price: From Dh529,000

Engine: 5-litre V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 520hp

Torque: 625Nm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km

The biog

Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb

Age: 57

From: Kalba

Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge

Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.

 

The biog

Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents

Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University

As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families

Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too

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Name: Akeed

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Launch year: 2018

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Sector: Online food delivery

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Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

Bloomberg