National Air Services (NAS) has announced the allocation of SR15.5 billion to strengthen the company’s fleet with the purchase of some 98 new aircraft over the next five years.

Seeing it as a historic step in the history of the company, and stressing on his company’s positive contribution to the development of the private and commercial aviation sectors in the Kingdom and the region in general, NAS chairman, General Ayed Al Jeaid, said that announcing agreements with the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers was in tune with the company’s plans to grow its strategic business units and service new markets for its private and commercial sectors in the region.

NAS is the largest and fastest-growing independent provider of aviation services in the Middle East.
 
NAS currently operates the largest and fastest growing fleet of private aircrafts in the Middle East which comprises of 44 aircrafts from the largest manufacturing companies such as Airbus, Boeing, Gulfstream, Dassault and Raytheon.

Following the signing of a number of purchase agreements since the beginning of this year, NAS is expected to increase its fleet size to include142 over the next five years, thus, becoming one of the most significant companies operating in the commercial and private aviation sectors in the Middle East.

NAS is the region’s sole provider of both commercial and private aviation services through its four distinct strategic business units, offering its customers innovative, total solutions to meet their various aviation needs.

The company is the Middle East representative of NetJets, offering fractional ownership and leasing options, and has for the past six years, been providing this service along with full portfolio of aircraft management services solutions.

To complement its package of products, NAS also offers two commercial services, Al Khayala airlines - a scheduled all business class service between the Saudi Arabian cities of Riyadh and Jeddah as well as regional flights to Dubai – and the recently launched NASair, Saudi Arabia first domestic budget carrier.

During the first half of 2007, NAS finalised four of the biggest deals - in terms of quantity and quality- conducted by the private sector in the history of the aviation markets in the Middle East, the latest of which was announced during the Paris Airshow at Le Bourget where NAS signed agreements with Airbus for the purchase of 38 Airbus 320 aircraft family with a value exceeding 9 billion Saudi riyals, and with Dassault Falcon, to buy 20 of its new large cabin business jet, the Falcon 2000LX, for over 1.9 billion Saudi riyals.

Last month NAS has also announced a similar deal with Gulfstream Aerospace Company to buy 20 long-range Gulfstream G450 business-jet at a cost of 2.6 billion Saudi riyals, only four months after the company purchased 20 new Hawker 750 aircrafts from Raytheon at a cost of one billion Saudi riyals.

In a sign of the company’s sound economic standing and good reputation in international aviation markets, Al Jeaid said NAS shall finance the aggressive  acquisition plans via local, regional, and international financial institutions.

In such financing, NAS will rely on creative financial instruments that will provide attractive investment venues to capital market investors, said Al Jeaid.  

Pointing out to the aircraft selection process, Al Jeaid said: 'The selection of new planes is the result of extensive studies, vigorous and interesting negotiations with the manufacturers aiming at building long-term partnership. We have taken into account the diverse needs of the company's services and its aircraft requirements in terms of frame size, load capacity, performance levels and operational cost.”

The recent announcement with Airbus constitute the core fleet of NASair and allow the new budget carrier to operate new domestic and international