Rizon Jet has opened its long-planned FBOs at London’s Biggin Hill Airport and Doha International Airport. Both the UK and Qatar facilities will provide full handling support and plan to extend their maintenance portfolios.

The Doha-based company is owned by Qatar’s GSSG Holdings and has ambitions to become a major business aviation services group. In Qatar, its aircraft management and charter division operates a pair of Bombardier Challenger 605s and a Hawker 900XP. Through a partnership with UK operator Oryx Jet, the fleet also includes another 900XP and a Premier 1, which is due to be supplemented by a Dassault Falcon 50.

In January 2009, Rizon placed an order for four of Bombardier’s new Learjet 85s, which are still set for delivery by 2015. However, an earlier order for a Global 5000 due for 2011 delivery appears to have been abandoned.

Rizon Jet was formed by Qatar’s GSSG Holdings group in 2006 and has spent more than five years developing its plans to establish a business aviation services group spanning the Middle East and Europe. The growth of its charter/management fleet has been slow, but it should be better placed to expand its portfolio now that it has secured initial maintenance approvals in Qatar and the UK. The group expects to employ 160 people by year-end.

The Biggin Hill facility now holds both EASA and Qatari Part 145 approvals, and in the UK its continuous airworthiness management organization (CAMO) clearance is held by Oryx Jet. Rizon has its own CAMO approval in Qatar, and its Doha base is now applying for authorization to work on Saudi Arabian aircraft. Both facilities are seeking maintenance clearance from the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

The Biggin Hill complex, with a total size of some 130,000 sq ft, is roughly the same size as its counterpart in Doha. The 62,538-sq-ft hangar can accommodate up to five Bombardier Global XRS aircraft or nine Challenger 605s. It features adjoining offices and workshops.

The impressively decorated terminal has a modern Middle Eastern feel, with five separate seating areas split over two levels, plus a children’s area, prayer room and business center. There is also a spacious flight planning area for crew and full kitchens and cold storage provision.

Catering is provided through a partnership between Rizon and Cuisine Air International. They also run a café on the other side of the building that will be used largely by visiting crews and engineering staff.

The new FBO is being managed by newly appointed Allan McGreal. Jackie Nikolajsen is the general manager of Rizon’s UK operation. He told AIN that the company wants to achieve authorized service facility status with Bombardier, and that this could happen if it proves its capabilities over the next year or so.