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Air Arabia

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Air Arabia
IATA ICAO Call sign
G9 ABY ARABIA
Founded3 February 2003; 21 years ago (2003-02-03)
Commenced operations28 October 2003 (2003-10-28)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programAirRewards
AllianceArab Air Carriers Organization
Subsidiaries
Fleet size41
Destinations123
Parent companyAir Arabia (PJSC) holding company, listed on the Dubai Financial Market.
Headquarters
Key people
RevenueIncrease AED 3.7 billion(FY 2014)[1]
ProfitIncrease AED 566 million(FY 2014)[1]
Total assetsIncrease AED 10.574 million (FY 2014)[2]
Total equityDecrease AED 5.054 million (FY 2014)[2]
Employees2,302 (Dec, 2013)[3]
Websitewww.airarabia.com

Air Arabia (Arabic: العربية للطيران al-ʿArabiyya aṭ-Ṭayarān) is an Emirati low-cost airline with its head office in the A1 Building Sharjah Freight Center, Sharjah International Airport. The airline operates scheduled services to 151 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Europe to 22 countries from Sharjah, 28 destinations in 9 countries from Casablanca, Fez, Nador and Tangier, 11 destinations in 8 countries from Ras Al Khaimah, and 6 destinations in 4 countries from Alexandria. Air Arabia's main base is Sharjah International Airport. There is also a hub in Ras Al Khaimah and focus cities in Alexandria and Casablanca.[4] Air Arabia is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.

History

Air Arabia (العربية للطيران) was established on 3 February 2003 by an Amiri decree issued by Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah and member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates, becoming the first low-fare airline in the Middle East. The airline started operations on 28 October 2003 with the first flight from Sharjah, UAE to Bahrain International Airport. The airline was profitable from the first year of being in business. It launched an initial public offering for 55% of its stock early in 2007.[4]

In March 2014, Airbus delivered its 6000th A320 family aircraft to Air Arabia.[5]

Corporate affairs

An Air Arabia Airbus A320-200 approaching Toulouse–Blagnac Airport (2012)

Management and ownership

Air Arabia launched in October 2003 and was the first low-cost carrier in the Middle East. The airline was listed on the Dubai Financial Market and traded under ticker symbol: (DFM: AIRARABIA) is now a holding company with assets worth over AED 10 billion. The airline began generating a profit in the first year of operation. Air Arabia today consists of a group of airlines and companies offering travel and tourism services across the Middle East and North Africa.

The board of directors consists of seven members. The current[when?] board was elected in March 2014 for a period of three years. Arabia closely monitors its board's actions and discourages the trade of shares within the board members.[citation needed] In 2014, the board members did not participate in any trade of Air Arabia Shares.[6]

As of the March 2014 Annual General Meeting, the board members consisted of the following members:[7]

Board Member Title
Sheik Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani Chairman of the Board
Adel Abdulla Ali Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
Dr. Ghanem Mohammed Al Hajri Independent Member
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al Thani Independent Director
Sheikh Khalid Bin Issam Al Qassimi Independent Member
Mr. Waleed Al Sayegh Independent Member
Mr. Matar Al Blooshi Independent Member

Headquarters

The headquarters is in the Sharjah airport Freight Center,[8] on the property of Sharjah International Airport. The airport is 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) away from central Dubai.

Joint ventures

Air Arabia has created joint ventures at four international bases. The following countries have had or still do have JV airlines based there:

Egypt

Air Arabia Egypt (2010–present) - On 9 September 2009, Air Arabia announced Air Arabia Egypt as a joint venture with Egyptian travel and tourism company Travco Group to be based in Alexandria, Egypt.[9] The airline received its operating license on 22 May 2010, with commercial flights beginning 1 June 2010. The fleet in Egypt consists of three aircraft, two operating a scheduled service and one carrying charter traffic from Europe to the Red Sea.

Jordan

In January 2015 Air Arabia announced the acquisition of a 49% stake in Petra Airlines. The principal shareholder of Petra Airlines, the RUM Group, retain a 51% stake in the airline, which will be rebranded as Air Arabia Jordan in early 2015.[needs update] It initially operated[needs update] two Airbus A320 aircraft and there are plans to develop a new hub in Amman.[10] The first flights of the new airline took place during the week commencing 18 May 2015, with launch destinations being Kuwait, Sharm El Sheikh, Erbil, and Jeddah. Air Arabia Jordan ended operations in 2018.

Morocco

Air Arabia Maroc (2009–present) - Air Arabia, in a joint venture with Moroccan investors established Air Arabia Maroc and set up a secondary base in Morocco's largest city, Casablanca; it began operations on 6 May 2009, allowing them to expand into Europe and Africa.

The Maroc fleet consists of ten aircraft serving mainly European destinations.

Nepal

Fly Yeti (2007–2008) - In 2007, Air Arabia opened a base in Nepal's capital Kathmandu to serve Asia and the Middle East, with the signing of a joint venture agreement with Yeti Airlines, establishing a low-cost carrier, called Fly Yeti that provided service to an international destinations. Due to the uncertain political and economic situation prevailing in Nepal and lack of local government support, FlyYeti operations were suspended in 2008.

The key trends for Air Arabia over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):[11][12]

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016 2017
Turnover (AED m) 181 411 749 1,283 2,066 1,972 2,080 1,796 2,832 3,183 3,729 3,739 3,778
Profits (AED m) N/A 31 101 369 510 452 310 195 424 435 566 481 365
Number of passengers (m) 0.5 1.1 1.8 2.7 3.6 4.1 4.5 4.7 5.3 6.1 6.8 8.0 8.5
Passenger load factor (%) 68 79 80 86 85 80 83 82 82 80 81 82 79
Number of aircraft (at year end) 3 5 8 11 16 21 25 29 33 34 39 46 50
Number of Destinations 15 23 32 37 44 45 65 69 82 90 100
Notes/sources [11] [11] [11] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [11] [12] [12]

Destinations

Main article: List of Air Arabia destinations

As of December 2014, Air Arabia serves 116 airports across the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe, with the latest being Cairo.[20][21]

Fleet

An Air Arabia Airbus A320-200 at Munich Airport (2012)

The Air Arabia fleet consists of the following aircraft as of October 2019:[22][23]

Air Arabia Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A320-200 37 — 168 The New Livery is currently being applied to the entire Air Arabia Fleet[24]
Airbus A320neo — 73 TBA Order announced in the 2019 Dubai Air Show [25]
Airbus A321neo — 20 TBA Order announced in the 2019 Dubai Air Show [25]
Airbus A321LR 4[26] 2 215[27]
Airbus A321XLR — 23 TBA Order announced in the 2019 Dubai Air Show[25]
Total 41 118

Livery

Air Arabia has had the same livery design since its founding in 2003. The aircraft body is painted in three different colors red, grey and white. The tail and each aircraft engine bear the company logo of Sharjah in the form of a bird.

Celebrating their 15 years of service in October 2018, a new livery has been introduced and will be applied to the fleet progressively. It features a large red bird logo coming down from tail to rear fuselage with grey accents behind its wings and billboard style AirArabia title in English on the front of aircraft with small Arabic title placed next to it above the windows, bird logo also adorns the engines while title in applied on red winglets .[24]

Services

In 2015 Air Arabia rolled out the AirRewards program, the first loyalty programme by a low-cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa region. The AirRewards model is based on the price paid towards Air Arabia services rather than the distance of the flight. This cashback loyalty program offers up to 10% cashback as points, maximum flexibility when redeeming points, with the availability of a variety of payment and reward options, without any blackout dates or limitations on availability.[28] Points can be earned and shared with anyone, AirRewards points act like a currency.[29]

Air Arabia is one of the few airlines which does not serve alcoholic beverages on its flights.[30]

Accidents and incidents

As of March 2017, Air Arabia has not had any fatal accidents or incidents and has a very good safety record.

  • 2 November 2013: An Air Arabia Airbus A320-200, registration A6-ANH operating as flight G9-522 from Chittagong to Sharjah with 161 people on board, was climbing from Chittagong when an engine (CFM56) ingested a bird prompting the crew to return to Chittagong for a safe landing.[31]
  • 16 March 2014: An Air Arabia Airbus A320-200, registration A6-ANL operating as flight G9-454 from Sharjah to Kozhikode with 171 passengers and 6 crew, was en route over the Arabian Sea southwest of Mumbai when the crew received a smoke indication in one of the cargo holds. The aircraft diverted to Mumbai for a safe landing. Attending emergency services found no trace of fire, heat or smoke.[32]
  • 3 May 2014: An Air Arabia Airbus A320-200, registration A6-ABQ operating as flight G9-551 (dep 2 May) from Sharjah to Sialkot with 162 passengers, was en route at FL370 near Multan when the crew needed to shut down the left hand engine (CFM56) and diverted to Multan for a safe landing.[33]
  • 30 May 2014: An Air Arabia Airbus A320-200, registration A6-ANQ operating as flight G9-522 from Chittagong to Sharjah with 137 people on board, was climbing from Chittagong's runway 23 when the crew stopped the climb at 7000 feet due to problems with the cabin pressurization and returned to Chittagong for a safe landing on runway 23 about 15 minutes after departure.[34]
  • 18 September 2018: An Air Arabia Airbus A320-200, registration A6-ANV performing flight G9-111 from Sharjah to Salalah, was taxiing for departure from Sharjah's runway 30, the aircraft entered the runway for an intersection departure from taxiway B14 and turned into direction runway 12 (opposite to intended direction), takeoff distance available from B14 on runway 12 was 1020 meters/3350 feet instead of 3010 meters/9900 feet in direction of runway 30, including the paved runway end safety area a paved surface of 1150 meters/3760 feet was available in direction of runway 12. The crew commenced takeoff from intersection B14 along direction runway 12, managed to become airborne in time to avoid any obstacles, climbed out to safety and continued to Salalah for a landing without further incident. [35]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Air Arabia 2014 full year net profit climbs 30% to AED 566 million". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Air Arabia Balance Sheet". GulfBase. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Air Arabia Member profile". Arab Air Carriers Organization. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 27 March 2007. p. 52.
  5. ^ "The A320 Family: 6,000 deliveries and counting". Airbus Industrie. 10 March 2014. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Air Arabia 2014 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Air Arabia PSJC Bloomberg Profile". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Contact Info Archived 20 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine." Air Arabia. Retrieved on 21 June 2010. "Air Arabia (UAE) Air Arabia Head Quarters Sharjah Freight Center (Cargo),at Sharjah International Airport P.O. Box 132 Sharjah, United Arab Emirates" - Arabic Archived 18 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine: "العربية للطيران الامارات مركز الشارقة لنقل البضائع (الشحن) ،بالقرب من مطار الشارقة الدولي ص. ب. 132 الشارقة، الإمارات العربية المتحدة"
  9. ^ "Air Arabia announced new Egyptian airline". Airarabia.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Air Arabia Expands into Jordan". Airliner World: 13. March 2015.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Air Arabia Investor Presentation" (PDF). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  12. ^ a b c "FINANCIAL RESULTS Q4/FULL YEAR 2017" (PDF). Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Air Arabia Investor Presentation 2007" (PDF). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  14. ^ "Air Arabia Investor Presentation 2008" (PDF). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  15. ^ "Air Arabia Investor Presentation 2009" (PDF). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Air Arabia Investor Presentation 2010" (PDF). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Air Arabia Investor Presentation 2011" (PDF). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  18. ^ "Air Arabia Investor Presentation 2012" (PDF). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  19. ^ "Air Arabia Investor Presentation 2013" (PDF). Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  20. ^ "Destinations - Air Arabia". Air Arabia. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  21. ^ "Air Arabia adds Cairo as its 90th Worldwide Destination". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  22. ^ "Air Arabia Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net.
  23. ^ "Fleet of Air Arabia". www.airarabia.com.
  24. ^ a b "Air Arabia introduces new livery". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  25. ^ a b c André Orban (18 November 2019). "Air Arabia orders 120 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft, including 20 A321XLRs". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  26. ^ Nick Wenzel (13 April 2019). "Air Arabia receives its first Airbus A321LR". International Flight Network. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  27. ^ "Air Arabia leases six new Airbus A321neo LR aircraft to serve longer range routes". 14 November 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  28. ^ "Air Arabia launches loyalty program 'Airewards'". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  29. ^ "Airewards FAQ". Air Arabia. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  30. ^ "Customer services Smoking and drinking". Air Arabia.
  31. ^ "Arabia A320 at Chittagong on 2 November 2013, bird strike". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  32. ^ "Arabia A320 near Mumbai on 16 March 2014, cargo smoke indication". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  33. ^ "Arabia A320 near Multan on May 3rd 2014, engine shut down in flight". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  34. ^ "Arabia A320 at Chittagong on 30 May 2014, cabin did not pressurise". Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  35. ^ "Incident: Arabia A320 at Sharjah on Sep 18th 2018, intersection line up departed in wrong direction". avherald.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.

Media related to Air Arabia at Wikimedia Commons

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