Air Arabia plans 100-jet order, promotes tourism in Malaysia
Air arabia is likely to order 100 or more Airbus or Boeing jets within the next three to four months, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
The UAE’s only listed carrier has long been looking to update and expand its fleet of 54 Airbus A320 jets.
“We need to put an order in. That is overdue,” Adel Ali said at the Arabian Travel Market exhibition in Dubai.
The airline will hold talks with both planemakers this week, he said. The talks come against the backdrop one of the biggest crises in Boeing’s 103-year history after two of its 737 MAX jets were in fatal crashes.
The 737 MAX has been grounded since an Ethiopian Airlines MAX crashed in March, killing 157 people. Some airlines are rethinking orders for the MAX jets, though Ali said he hopes Boeing, the world’s largest planemaker, will resolve any issues by the time Air Arabia makes its decision.
Boeing has said it is developing a software fix and new pilot training for regulatory approval to get the company’s best-selling plane recertified. “Air Arabia, which has only operated Airbus jets, could switch to
Boeing aircraft,” Ali said. “Whoever comes up with a better option we will go for,” he said.
The order would replace aircraft at Air Arabia’s main base in Sharjah, UAE, and hubs in Egypt and Morocco. “Air Arabia is also considering ordering smaller, regional jets for domestic flights in Egypt and Morocco,” Ali said.
Tourism Malaysia deal
Meanwhile, Tourism Malaysia has announced a joint promotional campaign with Air Arabia to highlight the introduction of direct daily flights from Sharjah to Kuala Lumpur and the campaign will run across the GCC, Iraq and Egypt market.
The signing ceremony by Musa Hj. Yosuf, director-general of Tourism Malaysia, and Adel Al Ali, group chief executive officer of Air Arabia took place at Arabian Travel Market 2019
The campaign aims to promote the enhanced connectivity between Malaysia and the Middle East in line with the goals of the country’s Visit Malaysia 2020 initiative, which seeks to attract 30 million tourists and around Dh89 billion in tourism receipts by the year 2020.
Air Arabia’s direct flights between Sharjah and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city, start July 1, 2019. It is also the first direct flight from the region by a low-cost carrier.
The seven-hour flight will operate daily. Flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays depart Sharjah International Airport at 14:55 hours local time arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 02:25 hours local time. The return flights depart Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 03:35 hours arriving in Sharjah at 06:50 hours local time.
Flights operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays depart Sharjah International Airport at 21:20 hours local time arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 08:50 hours local time. The return flights depart Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 09:55 hours arriving in Sharjah at 13:10 hours local time.
Air Arabia will operate its brand new Airbus A321 neo LR aircraft on this route with a capacity of 215 seats.