Operators of larger bodied, longer range jets in the Middle Eastern private aviation charter market will be better able to ride out the worldwide economic downturn, says Shane O'Hare, president and ceo of Royal Jet, the Abu Dhabi-headquartered international luxury executive flight services company, chaired by HE Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.

"We have always concentrated on higher net worth individuals who in the main require vip and super mid-sized aircraft such as Boeing Business Jets and the higher end Gulfstreams, for which we continue to see constant demand," O'Hare says. "Indeed, brokers are telling us that there remains a shortage of aircraft available for charter that are capable of flying more than 20 people, and that we – with our fleet of five BBJs – are ideally suited to picking up much more business."

But he adds: "The market for smaller jets is still substantial." Royal Jet's acquisition strategy was on target to operate around 20 aircraft by 2012 and 50 aircraft by the year 2020, with a preponderance of vip and super-midsize aircraft in its fleet.

Royal Med, the international aero medical evacuation and repatriation services subsidiary of Royal Jet, has seen a 40 per cent increase in successful missions over the past year, according to Dr Nart Wardham, who leads the Royal Med team of 10 doctors and consultants, 15 paramedics and intensive care nurses.