Airblue Finalising Flans to Buy 10 Aircraft
Khaleej Times STAFF REPORTER

2005 July 31 DUBAI: Airblue, Pakistan's new generation private airline which is all set to commence its Dubai operations from August 14, is finalising plans to acquire 10 new aircraft to meet it's route expansion moves.

Revealing this to mediapersons here yesterday, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Chief Operating Officer for Airblue and former chairman of Pakistan International Airlines, also announced the appointment of Al Rais Travel and Shipping Agencies LLC as the General Sales Agent (GSA) for the airline.

Initially, the airline will commence its operations by launching 35 flights a week from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar.

"There will be a single flight daily to each destination, except Karachi with two flights daily," said Abbasi.

The airline, which is launching its operations on Pakistan's Independence Day, hopes to operate from Terminal 1 in Dubai Airport.

"We are offering very competitive rates which are based on demand. The fares are already quite low in this sector, and ours will definitely be very competitive," said Abbasi.

The airline plans to operate out of Karachi with three new generation Airbus A-320 aircraft with an all-Pakistani cockpit and cabin crew.

"We are practically a paperless office," he said, adding: "This is what we plan in the Dubai sector as well."

The airline also offers innovations such as 100 per cent e-ticketing and on-demand fare which allows exclusive discounts to passengers with flexible travel plans and wireless check-in devices.

Syed Nasir Ali, Director Commercial, Airblue, said: "It is a public limited company, soon to be listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange. With an Rs6 billion infrastructure infusion in the aviation industry, the airline is the first to introduce e-commerce in the Indo-Pak aviation history."

Also present at the Press conference were Hossein Tehrani, Al Rais Travel and Shipping Agencies LLC, Brian D'Souza, Manager, Business Development, Al Rais Travel and Shipping Agencies and Abbas Raza Dar, Country Manager for Airblue.

The airline also has plans to operate additional flights to Dubai and the UK by early 2006 with modern long-range aircraft.