Abu Dhabi’s RoyalJet Appoints Mohammed Husain Ahmed As CEO

Abu Dhabi-based luxury charter operator RoyalJet has appointed Mohammed Husain Ahmed as its new Chief Executive.

Ahmed is the former General Manager of Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), the owner and operator of Abu Dhabi International Airport, the emirate’s intercontinental transit hub. He is taking over the reins from Rob DiCastri, the Canadian industry veteran who has steered the company since 2016.

RoyalJet specializes in “premium private aviation” at the top end of the charter market, catering mainly for ultra high net worth individuals, heads of state and members of royal families. The company is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi Aviation, the emirate’s largest commercial helicopter operator, and Presidential Flight, the official air transport carrier of the government of Abu Dhabi.

“We are delighted to have Mohammed join RoyalJet as CEO,” said H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of both RoyalJet and ADAC, and a prominent member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. “RoyalJet’s role in the UAE economy and regional aviation sector is well known, and with Mohammed ’s expertise and experience we are at the dawn of another era of success and brilliance.”

Ahmed said of his new role: “I am absolutely thrilled to be part of this pioneering and visionary organization and look forward to driving RoyalJet to greater growth and success.”

RoyalJet claims to be the world’s largest operator of Boeing Business Jets (BBJs), deploying ten owned or leased narrowbody 737 BBJs for VVIP charter flights. As of July, the company said it had another two BBJs under management that are separate from the marketed fleet – one of which is believed to be a widebody 787 Dreamliner BBJ (registration 2-DEER) previously operated by Deer Jet.

Among the in-house BBJs, one unit (registration VP-BRT) is registered under the secondary Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) of subsidiary RoyalJet Bermuda. That aircraft was owned by a Russian entity, DiCastri said last year, with online reports linking it to Roustam Tariko, the founder of Russian Standard Vodka & Russian Standard Bank. The jet’s current ownership status is unclear.

The other nine owned or leased BBJs in the dedicated charter fleet are all registered under RoyalJet’s primary Emirati AOC (prefix A6).

RoyalJet also operates three Bombardier Global 5000/6000 business jets, two of which are marketed on its website for charters. The latter units were delivered by Bombardier in 2015 and are configured with 13 seats in their passenger cabins.

In addition to its premium charter operation, RoyalJet is recognized as one of the Middle East’s leading aeromedical evacuation providers. Its BBJ fleet can be deployed at short notice with trained doctors and nurses, intensive care modules, neonatal ventilators, defibrillators and other mobile critical care facilities.