Air Works India Engineering has made a strategic investment in Dubai-based private aviation specialist, Empire Aviation Group.

Formed in Dubai in 2007 by the existing management team and co-founders of the company Paras Dhamecha and Steve Hartley, EAG is a one-stop shop for integrated private aviation services offering aircraft sales, management, charter, and finance and insurance. It has more than 100 staff and operates one of the region's largest managed fleets of business jets, with 20 aircraft under management, operating out of Dubai International Airport.

Commenting on the partnership, Dhamecha says: "Since formation in 2007, EAG has successfully built a strong regional aviation business and grown revenues and profit every year. We have also recently been looking at the exciting potential of the Indian aviation market and opened our first branch office there in 2011. So, we warmly welcome this partnership with Air Works – one of the leading companies in India's rapidly developing private aviation sector – which will help facilitate our entry into India and allow us to exploit more fully the Indian market opportunity by replicating the full portfolio of aviation services for India that we have successfully developed for the Middle East."

Hartley adds: "This partnership with Air Works will help EAG to broaden our business base and service offering in the Middle East and India and beyond. The timing is absolutely right as the global aviation sector recovers and this move will help accelerate EAG's growth and development as a regional and international player in private aviation, which has been our mission since we started the company in Dubai in 2007. Air Works is the leading aviation specialist in India and will provide market knowledge, experience and resources, so this is a very exciting opportunity for EAG." Established in 1951, Air Works is qualified to maintain 50 aircraft types, for over 100 customers across 15 maintenance locations in India.