Air Arabia reveals plans to double current fleet within 12 months

Image: Air Arabia

Air Arabia has shared its plans to double its current fleet capacity within the next 12 months, reported the state news agency, WAM.

In a statement to WAM, Adel Al Ali, group chief executive officer of Air Arabia, said, “Tourism is one of the key pillars of the UAE economy. Abu Dhabi is an emirate with solid destination appeal and our enhanced fleet size will continue to support the current robust inbound tourism, in line with the emirate’s long-term vision of growing regional and global visitor numbers.

“In 2022, a record 15.9 million guests travelled through Abu Dhabi, nearly threefold the number of visitors in 2021 at 5.26 million. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, which complements Etihad Airways’ services from the UAE capital, is contributing to this remarkable growth by catering to the growing low-cost travel market segment in the region.”

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi supporting emirate’s position as tourism hub

He added: “Air Arabia Abu Dhabi is supporting the UAE capital’s growing prominence as a global tourism and business hub. Doubling the fleet strength will be crucial to meet growing passenger demand for low-cost travel as the city records a new wave of growth in tourism, driven by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Strategy 2030, which aims to attract 23 million tourists annually by 2030.”

The group CEO said that the airline’s is strategically  diversifying its business and investing in innovative services to grow its market, reported WAM.

The airline follows the same strong business model adopted by Air Arabia Group, which focuses primarily on providing value-added services at affordable prices while investing in the latest technologies to expand market share.

Al Ali also stated that “despite the continued economic challenges and geopolitical concerns, 2023 continues to be an extraordinary year for the airline industry. It marked the return of the global aviation industry to near normality as travel restrictions eased, leading to strong passenger demand for air travel”.

“The industry is now recovering from its supply chain challenges and the pent-up demand for travel worldwide is continuing to drive growth,” he said.

In other news, Air Arabia recently reported a strong first quarter in both financial and operational terms. The carrier announced a net profit of Dhs342m for the period ending March 31.

Read: Air Arabia reports net profit of Dhs342m for Q1 2023