Dubai-based business aviation services group ExecuJet Middle East and NasJet, the private aviation arm of Saudi Arabia’s National Air Services (NAS), are to jointly operate a new FBO at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The facility will occupy some 16,000 sq ft in the airport’s private aviation terminal.

“By forming a joint venture with NAS, we have won a large captive client base given its position as the leader in Saudi private aviation,” explained Mike Berry, managing director of ExecuJet Middle East.

According to NAS Holding CEO Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, services at the new FBO will include assistance with permit requests and full concierge services. FBO clients also will have access to NAS’s aircraft management and charter services. Swiss-based ExecuJet is active in aircraft management and charter, and recently added a Challenger 850 and a 650 to its Dubai-based fleet. 

NasJet owns a fleet of 18 business aircraft and another 60 under management contracts. Until earlier this month NAS was the operating partner for the NetJets Middle East fractional ownership program, but NetJets terminated has now terminated this franchise agreement.

ExecuJet already operates 14 FBOs across five continents. It is due to open a new FBO at Frankfurt, Germany, on December 1 in partnership with fuel supplier Shell Aviation.

In addition to providing handling services in Riyadh, ExecuJet and NasJet will cooperating on the maintenance, repair and overhaul side of their businesses. Through a partnership between NAS maintenance subsidiary NAS Tech and Lufthansa Technik, ExecuJet and NAS customers are to be offered support for most business aircraft types.

Here at the Dubai Air Show yesterday, ExecuJet (Stand E370) celebrated the recent launch of another joint-venture FBO in Turkey. At Istanbul Ataturk Airport, the company runs an FBO with local company Bilen Air Service, which has seen a 30 percent rise in traffic over recent months.