Business bounce back and hydrogen in the air

With the region’s biggest business aviation event MEBAA Show postponed until February, this week’s programme hears just how strongly the sector is bouncing back with optimism. Our special guest is Rob DiCastri, the president and CEO of Royal Jet, the Abu Dhabi-based luxury carrier with the world’s biggest Boeing Business Jet fleet.The carrier has established a strong position in Africa as well as the Middle East and had widely published plans for establishing bases in Eswatini and Saudi Arabia and DiCastri explains how Covid has impacted plans but shops how it has also created opportunity.Enquiries from new potential customers are on the up. But can they be converted to a new customer base?Also looking for not just a customer base, but also technology partners is Airbus. This week the European manufacturer launched concepts for a family of hydrogen-powered airliners. Glen Llewellyn, the head of the European manufacturer’s zero emissions business talks about the need for collaboration but also of the importance of a zero emission strategy for the industry.And if you have ever wanted to create a name for an airline – there are opportunities now as we find out in our news trawl around the whole region.