Regional viewpoint

“The aviation industry is one of my passions. I enjoy travelling throughout the region; managing and interacting with different nationalities and cultures in the office; and meeting our diverse clientele,” he says. “When I joined, the office primarily organised cargo charters, but the private jet department has grown in line with the region’s boom as a business and tourist destination. Since I joined, we’ve grown from around 200 private jet charters a year to more than 1,000 flights last year. We’re one of the largest private jet brokers in the region thanks to our unique offering.”

We sat down with Elie to find out exactly what that unique offering looks like.

How do you and your colleagues work with your clients in the region?

Similar to ACS as a whole, we offer a bespoke service based on the individual requirements of the client. We use all means of communication – mainly the phone for a personal touch, but also emails and WhatsApp when needed. Across the region, we have speakers of Arabic, English, Farsi, French, Hindi, Oromo, Russian, Tagalog, Turkish and Urdu.

What’s it like managing a region where so many different languages are spoken?

I enjoy the diversity of our clientele. With so many language speakers in-house, we can build relationships with our customers and break down any cultural barriers through our ease of communication. We understand everyone’s requirements and use our local knowledge to meet them.

How has the region changed since you started working in Dubai?

Aside from the increase in private jet clientele overall, we’ve noticed more people from younger generations have started to use private jets for pleasure and business. The Legacy 650 and Global 6000 have become the most popular aircraft in our region.

Why is Dubai such a great location?

Dubai is a very exciting place to be. It has grown so much in the last few decades.

For our business travellers, it’s a fantastic place to start a business thanks to its advantageous geographic position between the East and the West, making it perfect for international trade. The city’s strong economy and business-friendly rules – such as tax breaks, custom duty benefits and no restrictions on foreign ownership – foster expansion and profit. In addition, Dubai possesses a highly developed infrastructure, a skilled workforce and a way of life that draws talent from all over the world. The city’s dedication to innovation and technology also gives companies access to cutting-edge digital tools and a futuristic corporate environment.

For our leisure travellers, the warm climate, easy accessibility and world-class luxury shopping and entertainment on offer make it attractive. According to New World Wealth, Dubai is home to almost 26,000 millionaires – the second-highest concentration of millionaires in the Middle East, behind Istanbul in Turkey – so there is plenty here to keep international private jet customers entertained… and to keep ACS busy!

What are the most popular locations to which you fly customers?  

In Europe, we often fly customers to London, Nice, Paris, Geneva, Ibiza and Mykonos. In America, New York and Los Angeles are always popular, whereas Singapore and Beijing are our top Asian destinations. Within my region, Kuwait, Cairo, Istanbul, Doha, Marrakesh, Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Ula are common destinations.

What does your day-to-day look like? 

I convene a sales meeting every Monday to draw insights from our experiences and strategise for the forthcoming days on how to collaboratively reach our goals. Throughout the day, I lend support in resolving any issues as the aviation field consistently presents challenges that demand proactiveness and out-of-the-box solutions.

Alongside meetings and managing relationships with suppliers, I attend to my customers and assist them with their booking process, offering a highly personalised experience.

I also coach and mentor the team in the office, motivating and inspiring them to achieve and creating a supportive environment for everyone.

Can you give an example of going above and beyond to meet a request?

We always aim to exceed the expectations of our clients every single time they fly with us. One that I remember well was a very complicated charter for an individual who gave us eight hours’ notice that they wanted to fly from the Middle East on a Global 7500 to do a road show in South America for 12 days. That’s quite short notice for such a long journey. We used our connections to secure the landing permit and overflying permits necessary and created a team of three brokers to manage the trip on a 24-hour basis due to the time difference. In the end, the flight operated on time and the passengers were extremely happy with the team effort and tailored service that ACS offered to make sure this flight went smoothly.

What are the plans for the future of ACS in your region? 

This region continues to show incredible growth and we are lucky to be part of it, so the future will see us continue to go above and beyond for our customers.

You can contact Elie and the team in Dubai via airchartermideast.ae

Elie’s dream flight

I would charter the Gulfstream G650ER – the Rolls-Royce of the sky – and I would travel to the Seychelles. The silent interior and spacious cabin of the G650ER, with its high-tech amenities and low cabin pressure, would offer the utmost comfort for the journey. The Seychelles is one of my favourite destinations – it’s the best group of islands in the Indian Ocean with luxury facilities for travellers, providing an excellent experience.