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Air Arabia flights to Mumbai start

Air Arabia, made its inaugural flight to Mumbai from Sharjah International Airport yesterday, expanding the airline’s reach to 12 countries and 16 destinations within the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

Airline sources stated that a total of 140 passengers boarded flight G9401 with an official delegation led by Air Arabia's Chairman Shaikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani, CEO Adel Ali and other officials. They were later met by dignitaries, the Press, airport and governmental authorities in Mumbai.

Shaikh Abdullah, in a statement, commented: “India is a key market for us and was part of Air Arabia's initial business plan when our operations commenced. We are extremely pleased to start operations to Mumbai today. We are committed to offering our passengers the best value and the highest quality of service and look forward to increasing trade and tourism between the two countries. Our thanks go to the Indian government and civil aviation authorities for their role in facilitating the start of operations to Mumbai.”

Replying to a question regarding the start of operations of Air India Express, the low-cost service of Air India on April 28, and the launch of daily flights to Mumbai from Sharjah by Indian Airlines today, Air Arabia's CEO Adel Ali, said that the airline is pleased that it was able to encourage and influence other airlines to adopt strategies that will ultimately be beneficial to travellers. “It only proves one thing — that we’ve been doing the right thing in the past months. The market is big, and Air Arabia is able to stimulate people to travel. The market size will increase.”

Mr Ali said that he had made a number of trips to Kerala where he has met aviation authorities as Air Arabia intends to operate to a number of destinations in that sector. Another destination that the airline is eyeing on is Pakistan, he added.

He said that India is an important route for Air Arabia as by connecting India to its existing routes, it can offer Indian nationals in the region the opportunity to travel more often at lower fares to India for business or leisure.

Flights will depart Sharjah airport daily at 4.40pm and arrive Mumbai at 9pm local time. From Mumbai, flights will depart everyday at 9.45pm and arrive in Sharjah at 11.25pm local time.

A one-way ticket from Sharjah to Mumbai starts from Dh249, excluding government and surcharges. On top of the starting fare of Dh249 to Mumbai, taxes are Dh100. From Mumbai to Sharjah International Airport, taxes are Dh90. The lowest return fare would amount to Dh688 — inclusive of government taxes and surcharges.

Indian expats ecstatic

SHARJAH - Indian expatriates who took the first Air Arabia flight to Mumbai from Sharjah International Airport were ecstatic when they checked in the airport counter, and were too happy to get the lowest possible fares in the market.

The launch of new service had been well received — with the announcement of the start date for flights to India and simultaneously loading the flight schedule into the system, 2,800 passengers were booked in the first 24 hours last week.

Binu Fernandez, a sales and marketing officer of a trading company in Dubai, told Khaleej Times that a one-way ticket would normally cost Dh600, and the cost of his one-way ticket on Air Arabia was only Dh450. “My former colleagues are expected to book their tickets with Air Arabia next month. The low fares will definitely encourage more people to fly more frequently,” he said.

Damyati N. Kumar, a housewife residing in Sharjah, said that she booked two days ago, and her return ticket cost her Dh750, inclusive of taxes. “Tickets used to cost between Dh1,200 to Dh1,500. Air Arabia's fares are pretty good. Now I plan to travel to India twice a year,” she enthused.

Chadha Revjot Singh, a Dubai-based businessman, said: “The fares are out of this world. I travel at least once a month to India and I wanted to try the new service offered by Air Arabia. It will greatly benefit Indian expatriates here in the UAE.”