Beechcraft targets Middle East with King Airs

Beechcraft King Air C90GTx

Beechcraft displays three King Airs at the Dubai Air Show 2013.

Beechcraft King Air C90GTx

Beechcraft will showcase three versions of the King Air at the Dubai Air Show next week, the King Air 350i, the King Air 350ER and King Air C90GTx, in addition to the AT-6.

“Beechcraft’s presence and market share continues to grow as the region’s use of special mission and business aircraft increases,” said Richard Emery, president for Beechcraft for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

“Historically, King Airs account for 67 per cent of the Middle East’s business turboprop market,” added Emery. “During the past five years the Middle East has experienced dramatic growth in business aviation and nearly 84 per cent of business turboprop deliveries in the region are Beechcraft King Airs.”

According to last year’s industry data, there are 91 business turboprops registered in the Middle East – 61 of these are King Airs. This same data shows turboprops are increasingly popular in the region: in the last five years, business turboprop deliveries jumped more than 1,000 per cent from the previous five years. Beechcraft delivered 29 King Airs to the Middle East from 2008-2012.

“One of Beechcraft’s largest growth segments in the Middle East is special mission applications, and some of the most popular in this region are surveillance, air ambulance and high density configurations,” Emery said. “Operators find that the range and payload capabilities of the King Air and its ability to land on unimproved runways provide cost-effective transportation solutions for intra-regional missions.”

“Our most active markets in the region are Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” Emery added. “We expect the strong demand for business aircraft in the Middle East to continue in the coming years, reflecting the region’s increasing global influence and economic development.”