International Air Charter (IAC), a leading private jet charter broker, expects a 50 per cent increase in demand for chartered flights to Saudi Arabia during this Ramadan compared with 2008.

IAC further revealed that the robust growth forecast is in line with the continued impressive performance of the kingdom's religious tourism sector, which has been predicted to generate up to $7 billion in annual revenues.

IAC has accordingly increased its fleet for destinations such as Makkah and Medina, key destinations of travellers performing the Umrah and Hajj pilgrimage.

IAC further noted that the increasing capacity of chartered flights will be an important component in further consolidating the Middle East aviation industry, which posted a 12 per cent share of global airline premium revenue passing to and from the Middle East in November 2008. This represents a 50 per cent increase since the onset of the economic slowdown, according to the Middle East Aviation Outlook Summit in Abu Dhabi.

'The significantly high number of tourist arrivals during Ramadan makes chartered jet flights a practical travel solution, particularly for affluent travellers who are looking to avoid the long queues, extra paperwork and other time-consuming formalities of commercial air travel,' stated Elie Abdo, managing partner – Middle East, International Air Charter.

'As such, IAC is increasingly allocating substantial resources and putting priority on religious tourism, which has certainly served as the catalyst for the sustained growth of tourist arrivals in Saudi Arabia. This is ultimately part of our comprehensive strategic plan in the Middle East, which has emerged as a new and exciting growth destination for chartered jet services.'

'IAC's network of over 50,000 aircraft worldwide allows us to deliver a truly flexible and more convenient platform to reach any international destination. Customers will also be able to customise in-flight services to match their personal and religious requirements. These are among the important facets that distinguish chartered jets as a more attractive travel solution,' added Abdo.

IAC offers a wide selection of six to 40-seat planes.

The ISO 9002 certified company has been a leading figure in the aviation industry for nearly two decades, and has been a specialist in the provision of VIP aircraft, executive jets, helicopter charter, corporate airliners and dedicated medical evacuation aircraft.-TradeArabia News Service