DRMumbai: After expansion of the existing bilateral seat capacity on the India-Sharjah route, the Middle East budget carrier Air Arabia, which operates 113 weekly flights to 13 destinations in India, is planning to open new routes in the country. Adel Abdullah Ali, Group CEO, Air Arabia, said, “Since bilateral norms are governed by the aviation authorities of both countries, new routes will be opened up after an amicable understanding is reached regarding the expansion in capacity.”
Air Arabia’s net profit for the year ending December 31, 2017, was AED 662 million ($180.23 mn), a 30 per cent increase compared to AED 509 million ($ 138.58 mn) registered in 2016. Turnover for the year was in line with the preceeding 12 months reaching AED 3.74 billion. Over 8.5 million passengers flew with Air Arabia in 2017 and the average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – in 2017 stood at an impressive 79 per cent.
“With regard to India, we always wanted more capacity. It is for both governments to decide on expansion of air traffic rights after reaching a reasonable agreement. Currently, all the 13 routes that we operate in India are profitable. There has been a yield dilution year-on-year because of increase in competition as well as seat capacity,” he said.
Air Arabia added 21 new routes to its global network in 2017 from its five operating hubs in the Middle East and North Africa. The carrier took delivery of four new aircraft and ended the year with a fleet of 50 Airbus A320 aircraft operating to 140 routes across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe.
According to Ali, currently, India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, CIS and Russia are profitable routes for Air Arabia. From India, 15 to 18 per cent passengers use Air Arabia for onward connections, while the remaining are point-to-point travellers. “The youth and their demand for low-cost travel are driving the LCC business.”
On investment opportunities, he said: “We don’t have a specific investment plan for India. As far as Air India is concerned, it is a conventional airline and doesn’t support our business model and it will be better handled by players here in India but Air India Express is a good option to bid for.”
Air Arabia recently launched new route linking Sohag to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. It is the seventh Air Arabia route being announced this year and will operate thrice a week. “As air travel continues to grow, especially in the Middle East, we will cater to demand in our core markets. The route to Jeddah from Sohag will further contribute in the travel and tourism growth of Egypt and Saudi Arabia offering direct connectivity between both cities. This step also underlines our commitment to offering our passengers access to destinations at a tremendous value,” Adel Al Ali said.
The airline chief said the company has already placed orders for A321 neos which will allow it to connect to more cities farther from those it flies into and probably fly to China and certain cities in South-East Asia.
Currently, the airline operates about 50 A320s and flies to 120 destinations. The airline has already expanded its Russia network. Air Arabia will begin flights to Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic in Russia on April 20. “This new flight option will offer passengers the opportunity to explore Grozny and experience the rich history and culture of this exciting city, at a great value. The new route adds to our existing network in Russia, which already includes Moscow,” he said.
