Air Arabia
| File:Air arab.png | |||||||
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| Founded | February 3, 2003 | ||||||
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| Hubs | Sharjah International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 16 (+28 orders) | ||||||
| Destinations | 40 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Sharjah, United Arab Emirates | ||||||
| Key people | Adel Ali (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.airarabia.com | ||||||
Air Arabia is a low-cost airline based in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It operates scheduled services to 40 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. Its main base is Sharjah International Airport[1]. Air Arabia is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.
History
Air Arabia (العربية للطيران) was established on February 3, 2003 by an Emiri decree issued by Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohamed Al Qassimi, the Ruler of Sharjah and Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates becoming the first low-fare airline in the region. The airline started operations on October 28, 2003 with the first flight from Sharjah, UAE to Bahrain International Airport. It issued a successful initial public offering for 55% of its stock early in 2007.[1].
Based in Sharjah International Airport, Air Arabia's passengers benefit from quick access to Dubai, low congestion and access to many other commercial carriers served at the airport.[1].
New Hubs
- North Africa
Air Arabia plan to setup a secondary hub in the Moroccan capital Rabat that will allow them to expand in Europe and Africa, they signed a management agreement with Regional Air Lines, a private carrier in Morocco for this purpose.
Air Arabia will take over management of the airline and apply its business model to it. In addition, Air Arabia and Bahrain-based Ithmaar Bank will invest capital in the Moroccan airline[1].
- South Asia
Air Arabia opened new hub in Nepal's capital Kathmandu to serve Asia and the Middle East.This followed the signing of a joint venture agreement between Air Arabia and Yeti Airlines, the market leader in domestic air travel in Nepal and approval from Nepal Government's Department of Industries (DOI).
Under the terms of the agreement, Air Arabia and Yeti Airlines established a new low-cost carrier, called Fly Yeti based in Kathmandu that provided affordable and convenient service to a broad range of international destinations.
Due to uncertain political and economic situation previaling in Nepal, FlyYeti operations were suspended since early 2008.
Destinations
Fleet
The Air Arabia fleet consists of the following aircraft as of July 2008:[2]
One of them is leased from Vueling Airlines from 15/03/2008 and for about one and half year. It's registration is A6-ABZ.
- Orders
- 44 more A320
References
- ^ a b c "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 52.
- ^ Air Arabia Corporate Fleet Information