Wallan walks the talk
There is one name that has been synonymous with business aviation in the Middle East for some years and it is no surprise then that Saad Wallan became one of the founder members of the fledgling MEBAA.
The boss of Wallan Aviation, the Riyadh-based exclusive dealer for Cessna Aircraft Company in the Gulf states, keeps very hands on and likes to pilot the aircraft that his firm has been so adept at selling. He regularly flies between his homes in Saudi Arabia and England and on to Cessna in the United States.
Wallan can also walk the talk.
A veteran of the Middle East business aviation industry, he is not afraid to speak candidly and critically of everything from the role of pilots in managing business jet operations to his disappointment that the Association and its co-organisers of the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show, have failed so far to uphold its original plan to stage the show at different Middle East venues.
Behind his comments is an industry pedigree that is unique in the kingdom, according to Wallan.
“We are the only company in the kingdom, even the whole of the Middle East, which is run by a private individual,” he said. “If you look at the whole industry in the region, you usually find government backing or government involvement.”
Formerly with the national airline Saudia (now Saudi Arabian Airlines), Wallan moved into the automobile franchise business before branching out into aviation in 1989.
Cessna came first and last year the firm added Bell Helicopter to its portfolio when it became the Authorized Independent Representative for the firm in Saudi Arabia.
Cessna’s faith in Wallan Aviation was well placed, with the Saudi firm winning a number of awards, including that for being Cessna’s most successful overseas representative in 2005 when the company sold 18 aircraft.
In 2010, the figure was down to just three, but Wallan believes that this year the market should recover and he says that his firm is best-placed in Saudi Arabia to take full advantage of the upturn.
“We know the reasons for the market downturn,” he said. “But we are hoping that 2011 will be the year where everything starts to happen again. I am confident that it will. Most of the bankruptcies will go away and we should see the economy pick up.”
Wallan is adamant that the Saudi market has a long way to go before it reaches its full potential.
“Some 70 per cent of sales are in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “This country is huge and only has limited roads available. It is three hours in a jet to cross Saudi Arabia. We have 27 airports but we are way behind the States in terms of aviation services. That is changing. Our economy growing and there is a huge amount of business going on in the country at the moment.
“It’s a very good market for business aircraft.”
While Wallan takes a view on current markets, the real focus of his interest is in the longer-term structural issues that have an impact upon the business and over which he has more control.
He has always been a great supporter of the MEBA show and again has a notable presence last November’s even in Dubai, but he says that while the event has fulfilled expectations, MEBAA and show manager F&E should cycle the event to different locations in the region.
A major issue is finding a venue capable of bringing together major exhibition space conveniently adjacent to a static park for displaying aircraft. The search is on to find a potential alternative site.
Another area to draw the criticism of Wallan is that of business aircraft management which, he believes, can actually result in new owners becoming so disillusioned with aircraft ownership that they put their purchases back on the market.
Business aircraft pilots with limited management skills can actually damage the growth of the market, he believes. Their shortcomings cover everything from choice of MRO facilities to poor inventory management skills.
The result is that business aircraft owners, particularly new ones, are getting less than optimum value out of their investment, according to Wallan.
“This is not good for the market because owners get a bad result from their investment and they blame the industry,” he said. “They buy the aircraft but often they do not hire a professional to manage it. Instead, they let the pilot do it. They should remember that pilots are not managers.
“My advice is if you are hiring a pilot and giving them these responsibilities, then you should inquire what their education was before they became a pilot.
“Pilots are paid very well but they do not have to have high education. Yet they are expected to manage everything, organise insurance, spares and so on.”
Wallan, himself a pilot, cited a range of cases from his own experience: pilots choosing MRO facilities based on how well they “are looked after” by the facility; a pilot operating out of Damman, Saudi Arabia, who gets his flight planning from Houston.
“There was a pilot who had to buy a spare, so he thought he would buy two. You see pilots who go somewhere (with their aircraft) because their girlfriend is there. All of this costs money for the owner.”
Wallan says he fears this trend could actually hurt growth in the industry, with disillusioned owners getting rid of their aircraft.
While his own company aims to look after owners for the first six months, hiring pilots, dealing with paperwork and looking after scheduled maintenance, he would like to see the manufacturers do more.
“The manufacturers should help new owners because it is in everybody’s interest that these problems do not arise,” he said.