Executive exhibits at Abu Dhabi With the Gulf and Middle East regions collectively continuing to grow from strength to strength, demand for corporate jet travel has surged in the region. Demonstrating its commitment to the vibrant Middle East business aviation market, Qatar Executive is taking part at the Abu Dhabi Air Expo which took place between 6-8 March. The three-day event takes place at Al Bateen Executive Airport �ê" the first dedicated business jet airport in the Middle East and North Africa. The carrier is showcasing its Bombardier Challenger 605 at the event, giving visitors the opportunity to see the luxurious interiors of its popular jet, which features the widest stand-up cabin of any business aircraft in this category available today. Covering business jets, helicopters, and related services, the Abu Dhabi Air Expo is expected to draw over 10,000 visitors and major aviation players from across the Gulf region, Levant, North Africa and, as far afield as Asia and South Africa. The ultra-long business jet has 11 seats and can whisk passengers from Abu Dhabi to Singapore or from Abu Dhabi to London non-stop. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art entertainment system, featuring 21-inch large LCD monitors, as well as internet and satellite communications service for an efficient and comfortable work environment. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al-Baker said: "Our participation at the Air Show demonstrates Qatar Executive's commitment to the Middle East business jet market, which is continuously leading the way in the global aviation industry. "Dynamic growth and greater diversification of local economies are driving demand for our private jets, as well as for our large airliner charter services, demonstrated by huge booking numbers that have exceeded our expectations since the start of the year." Qatar Airways' corporate jet division recorded an increase in its handling of visiting business aircraft at Doha International Airport. Canadian aviation policies concerned Improving the competitiveness of Canadian aviation has come to be the focus of critics by the world's organising body of air transport. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called upon Canada's policy makers to take actions to improve the competitiveness of the country's aviation sector including reducing the heavy tax burden "Canada is home to leading global aviation organisations including IATA, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Airports Council International (ACI), and has one of the world's most important aerospace sectors. Yet government policies including a high tax burden hamper aviation's ability to serve as an even greater catalyst for economic growth and jobs creation," said IATA's Director General and CEO Tony Tyler in an address to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations. Tyler compared Canada's aviation sector with Australia's, a country with which Canada shares some characteristics in terms of geography, resources, demographics and other areas. According to country studies conducted on behalf of IATA by Oxford Economics, aviation directly contributes 2.2 per cent of GDP for Canada but 2.6 per cent for Australia. If catalytic benefits through tourism are included, GDP contribution rises to 2.8 per cent for Canada--and to 6.1 per cent for Australia. Canada's population is around 50 per cent larger, but Australia has more air travel: 78 million passengers travel to, from and within Australia, compared to 71 million for Canada. "There is one statistic, however, where Canada wins hands down over Australia: aviation's contribution to taxes. It is about 19 per cent higher in Canada, excluding the impact of domestic taxes on fuel. Were fuel to be included, the difference would be even greater, since Canadian fuel taxes are about double the amount for Australia," said Tyler. "The Crown rent charged for Canada's airport infrastructure is a CAD250 million annual competitive disadvantage. The pain is not only felt by the Canadian air transport sector which suffers from passengers opting to start their journeys from US airports. Every business that relies on connectivity shares the burden. That is not all. The burden also includes Property in Lieu of Taxes and some of the highest security fees in the world -- which can be up to ten times those charged in the US," said Tyler. Despite these competitive disadvantages, recent developments provide reason to be optimistic that Canadian policy makers are starting to view aviation as a strategic asset. "The announcement by the government of British Columbia that it is proposing to do away with the provincial tax on international jet fuel from next month is excellent news. In another positive development, Transport Canada has initiated a stakeholder consultation on key policies affecting the competitiveness of the aviation industry. I urge the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Denis Lebel to include a look at the impact of aviation taxes in this review. It is important that this consultation process develops consensus on a coherent national aviation policy that supports improved competitiveness in recognition of the catalytic impact of air connectivity on economic growth and development," said Tyler. A new training facility in Dubai flydubai airline officially opened its new state-of-the-art training centre last week, the only certified Boeing 737 facility in the UAE. Airline CEO, Ghaith Al-Ghaith, along with the Director General of Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ) Mohammed Al-Zarooni, cut the ribbon on the new centre, which has been approved by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The located at DAFZ not only allows flydubai to train its own cabin and flight deck crews, but to also conduct third party training to other airlines, including Global Jet, around the region. Al-Ghaith said: "Today is a very exciting day for flydubai. I am very proud of the efforts the team has made to create a training centre of this calibre. We have now had 30 batches of cabin crew graduate from our internal programme and I look forward to seeing more complete this world-leading training as well as welcoming other airlines to take advantage of the excellent training facilities we have here." The facility, which was built at a cost of more than AED2 million, includes a fire and smoke training simulator plus four large classrooms and a dedicated computer-based training room. It is an expansion of the original training centre, which was opened in August 2010, and houses a 737 door trainer, emergency training slide, pilot training seat as well as four traditional classrooms. flydubai trains all its cabin crew in-house, from entry level to supervisors. All cabin crew undergo a thorough five-week course prior to their first flight, which includes cabin service, first aid and safety and security training. The airline also conducts recurrent training for both cabin and flight deck crews. .
