SPA to set up four fixed-base operators

Dubai: K.T. Abdurabb DUBAI: Four new fixed- base operators ( FBO) will open in Saudi Arabia before the yearend, starting with one in Jeddah this month followed by the others Dammam, Riyadh and Madinah, Saudia Private Aviation ( SPA) Managing Director Wajdi A. Alidriss said.

" It is a huge plan and all the airports will be covered and managed by SPA then," he told Arab News during last week's ATM.

Confirming a new deal related to ground transportation, he said: " We signed an agreement on ground transportation from the hotels and airport," Alidriss added.

He did not elaborate the details of the deal. " We will disclose it later," he said.

SPA is among the best in the world and keeps high standards in private aviation chartering industry. Currently, it operate 10 aircraft and will double the number by 2020, he added.

" We offer a comprehensive range of non- scheduled flights to any destination. Based in the Kingdom, our main market is Middle East. Seventy percent of our business is in the Middle East and the rest is in Europe," he said.

SPA has acquired the most modern and state- of- the- art aircraft in its fleet that can cover long and short distances. Its Dassault Falcon 7Xs business jet is known for its high levels of comfort, especially on very long nonstop flights, up to 13 hours. Hawker 400XP caters to the business travelers who want to make several short trips in a day. Boeing 747 and 777, Embraer 170, and Airbus 320 and 330 are the other aircraft in the fleet," he said.

In addition to VIP aircraft chartering, SPA also does aircraft management, consultation and ground services. " Our business is growing. When we started in 2009, we had only 69 customers and the VIP customer base touched 596 in 2011. By the end of this year, we will have 750 VIP customers" he said.

SPA is participating in this fair for the first time and " we found that ATM is a good platform to strike deals and meet potential clients," he added.