Air Arabia plans to start Western Europe services

posted on 07/05/2009: 26 views

Sharjah-based budget carrier Air Arabia will launch flights to Paris, Barcelona and Brussels this month as it looks to boost revenue from its new Moroccan hub, the airline's chief executive said yesterday.

The Middle East's largest low-cost carrier by market value began services from Casablanca to London yesterday and is aiming to fly to as many as 15 destinations from its North African hub in its first year of operations, Adel Al Ali said.

"It's very important for our growth... it's going to be a very big hub for us like Sharjah," he said, referring to the UAE's third-largest emirate, adding it was aiming for a 60 per cent passenger seat load factor for the first year.

The air transport sector received a strong blow in 2008 first from rising fuel costs, then from the global financial crisis, although low-cost carriers typically perform better in an economic downturn than national carriers by competing on price.

Ali said in March the airline was aiming to have about 25 aircraft flying out of the Moroccan city to at least 60 destinations in Europe and Africa within five years. "We should have at least 15 countries," he said when asked how many destinations it would fly to by May 2010. "We have got slots in these places… Barcelona, Paris, Brussels and will be flying there between now and May 16," Ali said.

The airline, aiming to ultimately employ 1,000 people from 100 at present, has also started selling tickets to Lyon, Marseille and Milan, according to the budget carrier's website. Set up in 2003, Air Arabia has a fleet of 16 A320 aircraft, and has placed an order for 44 A320s from Airbus. – Emirates Business 24|7

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