Home Transport Aviation Air Arabia Posts 17.5% Rise In Q1 Passenger Numbers The low-cost carrier introduced three new routes in the first quarter of the year. by Aarti Nagraj April 22, 2013 Low cost carrier Air Arabia carried a total of 1.4 million passengers in first quarter of this year, a 17.5 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of 2012. During the first three months of 2013, the airline launched flights from its primary hub in Sharjah to Sialkot in Pakistan, Baghdad in Iraq and Mattala in Sri Lanka. Air Arabia, which currently flies to 85 destinations from its hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt, also increased frequencies on existing routes. The carrier recently took delivery of two brand new sharklet equipped Airbus A320 aircraft as part of an order of 44 aircraft placed in 2007. The delivery of all the aircraft will be completed by 2016, and will more than double the size of Air Arabia’s fleet. Adel Ali, group CEO, Air Arabia said: “Air Arabia continues to witness significant growth in passenger numbers, and this demonstrates the popularity of the airline’s value for money and excellent service.” The airline carried more than 5.3 million passengers in 2012, compared with 4.7 million in 2011. The only publicly listed carrier in the UAE, Air Arabia competes with Dubai-based flydubai and Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways in the region. 0 Comments