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Airblue to start UAE operations

Starting off with 19 flights covering all destinations in Pakistan, the airline comes as a welcome boost to the rapidly growing Dubai-Karachi sector.

"After completion of one successful year since our launch in Pakistan, we decided to move to the UAE and offer value-added services to customers here," said Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Chief Operating Officer of Airblue and a former chairman of PIA.

Initially, the airline will be operating seven daily flights on the Dubai-Karachi sector and later on will operate four weekly flights each to Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar. The airline is still negotiating with a locally based GSA.

"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," Abbasi said.

The airline plans to operate out of Karachi with Airbus A-320 aircraft.

"For the first time in Pakistan, we introduced the latest and innovative web-based eTechnology offering eTickets and mobile check-ins. We are practically a paperless office," he said.

"We are confident Airblue with its superior travel offerings and convenient frequency of flights will become an airline of choice for all discerning travellers," Syed Nasir Ali, Director Commercial, Airblue, said.

"It is a public limited company, soon to be listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange. With a Rs6 billion infrastructure infusion in the aviation industry, the airline is the first to introduce e-commerce in the Indo-Pak aviation history," he explained.

Giving details, Abbasi said: "The domestic market has responded well and we have cornered 26 per cent of the market share, second only to Pakistan International Airlines. We have also witnessed a growth of 46 per cent this year as compared to last year. On both the domestic and international fronts on this sector, the airlines faces competition from other private domestic airlines including PIA, Shaheen Airlines and Aero Asia."

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