UAE-listed After obtaining the necessary operational licences for the budget carriers, Air Arabia intends to begin operations of its new joint venture airlines in Pakistan and Armenia by early June, according to the airline’s group chief executive.
Adel Ali stated on the sidelines of the Arab Aviation Summit in Ras Al Khaimah on Tuesday that Air Arabia will lease three Airbus A320 jets to Karachi-based Fly Jinnah to begin with internal flights, while Fly Arna will be assigned two leased A320s to begin its first international route.
“They’re both working hard on the technical part of earning the Air Operator Certificate [AOC], and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to complete everything by early May.” “If we execute all of things and acquire the AOC, we expect to be able to run both airlines by late May or early June,” he told reporters at the press conference.
As the emirate loosens pandemic-related travel restrictions, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, a low-cost joint venture formed with Etihad Airways at the height of the pandemic, is set to expand further this year, he said. It presently has four Airbus narrow-body aircraft in its fleet.
“There’s a lot of construction going on, and we’d like to get more planes into that hub before the summer,” Mr Ali added. Within the next several weeks, a decision on the number of planes will be made.