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Pakistani air carrier landing in Sharjah |
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SHARJAH // Airblue, Pakistan’s largest private carrier, will start flying twice a day from Sharjah to Pakistan in the first phase of the airline’s plan to expand services in the Gulf and South Asia. The airline will operate its two newly acquired Airbus A319s to two destinations in northern Pakistan, beginning on Aug 14. “The plans are to fly to two of the four northern destinations in Pakistan, including Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad or Peshawar,” said Syed Nasir Ali, the managing director of Airblue. “Two destinations will be finalised once all the approvals have been secured from Sharjah aviation authorities.” The 14 flights a week from Sharjah will take the total number of Airblue flights from the UAE to 35 a week. The airline currently operates 21 flights a week from Dubai to four destinations in Pakistan, and is also looking to expand its service from Dubai. Mr Ali said last month that the airline had held negotiations with Abu Dhabi authorities and planned to launch flights from the emirate to Peshawar and Islamabad “soon”. He added that Airblue would introduce flights to Muscat, in Oman, and to Kuwait in October as the second phase of the airline’s expansion got under way. Airblue has already secured landing rights in Muscat and is in the final stages of negotiating for rights in Kuwait. “We are also looking at the possibility of starting Jeddah operations to get a share of Hajj and Ummrah traffic,” Mr Ali said. Airblue has also set its sights on the Indian market and has secured approval from the Indian and Pakistani authorities to start flights between Lahore and Delhi this winter. Airblue plans to announce an initial public offering of shares next year to fund 14 new A320 Airbus aircraft worth about US$800 million (Dh2.94bn). Mr Ali, however, would not say how much the airline intended to raise, or what stake of the company it would offer. “We are at the planning stage right now and a decision will soon be made,” he said, adding that the airline would complete three years of operations in August, the prerequisite for a public offering in Pakistan. Counting the two A319 aircraft that Airblue recently added, the carrier currently has a fleet of eight Airbus aeroplanes . From the middle of next year, Airblue is scheduled to receive a new Airbus aircraft every three months. “We will have about 18 aircraft once we get the full delivery. We will phase out the older aircraft as well,” Mr Ali said. He added that Airblue was also looking at the option of acquiring a wide-bodied aircraft, possibly an A330, to service its long-haul route to Europe. “With the addition of these new aircraft to the fleet, Airblue will expand operations to more European destinations, including London, Scandinavia and also more destinations in the Middle East, Far East and Saudi Arabia,” he said. |
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