ExecuJet Middle East, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, expects to add additional managed aircraft to its 20-plus fleet over the coming months. "We've grown tremendously," says md Mike Berry. "The ExecuJet entity in the Middle East began in 1999 with just a couple of managed aircraft but it now employs more than 195 and runs a state-of-the-art maintenance and FBO at Dubai international airport."

This year the company added two privately run aircraft to its managed fleet, including a Global XRS and Challenger 605.

Berry says: "We are starting to see the first early signs of an upturn after what has been an unprecedented fall off in business aircraft flying in this region as a result of the global economic crisis, which has impacted tourism and progress on various regional development projects."

Berry says the ExecuJet Aviation Group is pleased with the success of its new SimplyFly Membership Card since its launch earlier this year. The programme, he says, is designed to create a more time effective and convenient approach to chartering aircraft, and has been implemented in all ExecuJet regions with notable success in the Middle East and Europe.

The programme is designed for companies or individuals who make regular use of private flights and want to secure a pricing and service structure. "The programmes themselves are tailored to fit the demand of each region but provide the same concept of convenience and flexibility," Berry says. "There has been significant interest in the Middle East with many enquiries generated over the new programme."

Paul van der Blom, business development director Middle East, says the membership card enables clients to select an hourly utilisation package and a preferred aircraft type from the worldwide charter fleet.

Berry says ExecuJet Middle East has progressively expanded its capabilities in aircraft maintenance and technical support. ExecuJet's Dubai FBO, Berry says, currently handles about 120 movements a month.

Tobias Laps has been appointed as gm Germany for ExecuJet Europe. He joined ExecuJet in July 2008.