Bombardier, ExecuJet and Alpha 55 of Dubai have established a joint venture to open a factory service facility in Dubai. It will offer Bombardier customers in the Middle East a full range of business aviation services including aircraft charter and aircraft management. It will also provide them with support and maintenance for the entire family of Bombardier business jets.

The facility is scheduled to open in 2002 and with it the company’s operations in Dubai will encompass aircraft sales, flight operations, maintenance and spares.

The three joint venture partners signed the agreement during the Dubai Air Show. The 28,000 square-foot support facility, located at Dubai International Airport, will feature two maintenance bays capable of accommodating two Global Expresses and two Challengers at the same time. It will also house a

spare parts depot that will serve operators throughout the Middle East region and employ more than 50 skilled staff at peak operations.

Hadi Mouawad, director of Alpha 55, said: “It makes excellent business sense for us to further develop our relationship with these two aerospace companies in order to provide more services to business aircraft operators in the Middle East.”

Meanwhile Bombardier Aerospace has announced the selection of ExecuJet as an authorised service facility for its Learjet and Challenger business jets in Europe. ExecuJet will provide complete maintenance service for all the Learjet models, specialising in the Learjet 31A, 45 and 60 business aircraft, as well as all Bombardier Challenger models. Bombardier now has 22 Learjet authorised service facilities located in 13 countries.

The 3,150 square metre facility, based in Zurich, has the capacity to service four Challengers and several narrow body aircraft simultaneously. The ExecuJet facility is fully operational and is expected to service 30 aircraft annually. Zimex Aviation Group will conduct parts management on behalf of ExecuJet and fulfil the facility’s labour needs.