Sheikha Mozah bint Marwan Al Maktoum has become the first woman to pilot the AW609 tiltrotor aircraft — which takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies at the speed of a plane.
Already the first female pilot in the Dubai ruling family, Sheikha Mozah piloted the plane earlier this month during a visit to Italian defence and aerospace company Leonardo’s US helicopter headquarters in Philadelphia.
This hour-long flight set a milestone for women pilots in the civil aviation sector.
AW609 tiltrotor manufacturer Leonardo said Sheikha Mozah's skillset as a Boeing 777 captain with Emirates and a certified pilot of the AW139 helicopter — also produced by Leonardo — made her uniquely qualified to fly the tiltrotor.
This is not just a personal milestone but an opportunity to shatter another glass ceiling for women
Sheikha Mozah bint Marwan Al Maktoum
“I’m thrilled to be the first female pilot to test this revolutionary aircraft,” Sheikha Mozah said on Monday.
“This is not just a personal milestone but an opportunity to shatter another glass ceiling for women.
“I always push myself beyond my limits to prove that if I can do it, it is also within the reach of anyone else who is determined enough to try.”
She described it as a “natural evolution” of her experience as a pilot and said it felt like home when she stepped into the plane.
“I am still pinching myself,” she said.
“Aircraft like this one makes me feel really excited about the future of aviation, a future now open to more women who chose this industry.
“Piloting the AW609 has been on my bucket list since I first saw the early prototype images.”
Sheikha Mozah said she had been “really excited about the experience”.
The tiltrotor combines the strengths of the helicopter and plane. It can take off and land vertically, hover like a helicopter and fly at speeds of more than 500 kilometres an hour and cover almost 1,400km.
Leornardo expects civil, government, and military demand for the plane once it receives US Federal Aviation Administration certification.
In addition to passenger services, the AW609 can operate in search and rescue and emergency medical services roles.
William Hunt, managing director of Leonardo Helicopters in the US, said it was “incredibly meaningful” to have Sheikha Mozah as the first female pilot on the AW609 on May 9 and 10 in Philadelphia.
“Demonstrating the AW609’s combined fixed and rotary-winded piloting capabilities was a true milestone for the team in Philadelphia,” he said.
Sheikha Mozah said she set her heart set on flying the minute she set foot into the cockpit of an aircraft at the age of 12 and has set several records in aviation.
At the age of 17, she became the youngest student enrolled at Oxford Aviation Academy in England.
After receiving Boeing 777 certification, she was appointed as a first officer with Emirates in 2015 and soon after set out on her first passenger flight from Dubai to Amman, Jordan.
She was also the first lieutenant pilot in the Dubai Police Air Wing in 2019.
Sheikha Mozah said the tiltrotor was pilot-friendly and amazing to fly. She forgot what type of plane she was commanding until she looked out of the windows at the big rotors.
“The merging of the rotor and fixed-wing just makes it a totally different experience,” she said.
“It’s something you can’t describe unless you are in there.”
Leonardo brought the tiltrotor to Dubai during the Expo 2020 Dubai to show its capabilities.
The aircraft was flown from Italy to Dubai for its debut outside Europe and the US.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
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Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
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