Bahrain Executive Air Services (Bexair), one of the Middle East’s aviation newcomers, is announcing the purchase of a new Challenger 601 at Dubai 2003.

The charter airline, which was launched at the last Dubai air show, says it required an additional long-range aircraft because its business is progressing.

Marketing support manager, Sakeer Sheik said: “It was chosen in part due to its similarity to the 604, which is already in our fleet. Operationally it’s more cost-effective to operate the same aircraft type. The customers in this region prefer wide-bodied business jets and this model is cheaper than the 604. We had customer demand for it as well.

“It was a choice between the 601 and the 604, but due to the price of the jet, the performance

and the requirements of our customers, the 601 was a more suitable choice,” he said.

Bexair, which currently provides executive aircraft charter services throughout the Middle East to international destinations, says regional demand for executive air services is at an all-time high.

“There has never been such demand for executive air services. Some of it is security-oriented,

but overall there has been a major need for our high standards of executive charter,” said Sheik. “There was a niche and we are filling it with great success.”

Sheik says that the Iraq crisis is unlikely to bring a downturn in business. “Charter operators do not suffer the same ill-effects as mainstream international airlines although there are flight disruptions due to closure of certain air routes in the region,” he said.

“It was also clear after September 11 that the aviation industry in the Middle East did not suffer as much as in some other parts of the world. We expect a quick return to normalcy.

“However, during the crisis, of course, Bexair has been strictly adhering to a contingency plan

to ensure protection of our equipment and people.”

In other news, a new Citation Bravo joined the fleet in June of this year. The company says the aircraft is doing well because it is a new type of aircraft in the region, because it is offered at good value charter rates and because it is a suitable aircraft for regional travel.

“Our present fleet consists of a 2002 model Challenger 604 which is used for long-range flights, flying mostly to Europe and Far East Asia,” said Sheik. “The Citation Excel 1999 model is busy with regional travel requests. The aircraft are being utilised very close to the protected optimum level.”