A subsidiary of Dubai World has shut down its executive jet management business, citing "commercial reasons", in fresh evidence of belt tightening at the group as it seeks to restructure operations and postpone debt repayments.
Istithmar World Aviation Executive Jets, part of Dubai World's investment arm Istithmar World, closed its doors in December, a month after the parent company Dubai World announced a major debt restructuring.
"For commercial reasons, Istithmar World decided last year to wind down its corporate jet management operation under Istithmar World Aviation. This decision has no impact on Istithmar World's asset base," a representative for the company said yesterday.
Istithmar World Aviation originally began as Nakheel Aviation, which managed the business jets for the property company behind such coastal developments in Dubai as the Palm Jumeirah and The World.
Although it has shut its executive jets management business, Istithmar World Aviation's other investments include stakes in Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, an aviation investment firm whose holdings include aviation engineering and maintenance firms in the US, and Daallo Airlines, a carrier based in Dubai and serving Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. By 2007, the company said it had built up its staff to 60 people and planned to spend US$50 million (Dh183.6m) developing its business into a major regional provider of business jets for charter and management of privately owned aircraft.
It planned to build two aircraft hangars encompassing 170,000 square feet at Al Maktoum International, the new airport opening this year in Jebel Ali. The aviation unit is thought to have had about five aircraft under management, of which two or three are owned by Dubai World. Some aircraft are now being managed by Empire Aviation, a business jet operator based at Dubai International Airport, sources familiar with the matter said.
Officials from Empire Aviation declined to comment yesterday.
Dubai World is engaged in a major restructuring in its diversified businesses as it seeks a debt standstill and restructuring with its creditors. Istithmar World recently sold the W New York Union Square hotel in a New York foreclosure sale. Last week, the company announced the resignation of its chief executive, David Jackson, under whose watch the company made some of its most high-profile investments, such as the purchase of Barneys New York, an upmarket retailer. The closure also comes at a time when business jet operators have been feeling the bite from the global economic downturn, with business down an average of 30 per cent last year.
"The slump in the market has affected us all, and all operators have lost aircraft," said Mike Berry, the managing director of the Dubai firm ExecuJet, which put in an unsuccessful bid to manage Istithmar World Aviation's aircraft.
Ali al Naqbi, the founding chairman of the Middle East Business Aviation Association, said the market may finally be beginning to improve after a difficult time last year. "It is beginning to pick up," he said. "The last month of last year was very good, with good requests."
@Email:igale@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Pieces of Her
Stars: Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, David Wenham, Omari Hardwick
Director: Minkie Spiro
Rating:2/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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The Specs
Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp (542bhp in GTS model)
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000 (Dh549,000 for GTS)
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars