Sharjah Update Sharjah business & Investment News from Invest in Sharjah (Sharjah FDI Office)
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Air Arabia Jordan, the new venture formed from Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia’s acquisition of a 49 percent stake in Petra Airlines, will commence operations from its Amman Queen Alia International Airport base on Monday 18 May 2015.
The Jordan venture’s services will start with direct flights to four countries in the region, strenghtening the group’s connectivity between Jordan and the Levant, Middle East, Europe and North Africa. Travel media have speculated that the Jordan hub could help the Air Arabic group open up more European routes more quickly. The airline has been pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy and recently opened a new route to Urumqi, its first service to China.
The inaugural flight from Air Arabia’s Jordan hub will take off to Kuwait city, followed by the launch of regular scheduled services to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Erbil, Iraq and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt on May 19th, 20th and 21st respectively. The airline informs that more destinations are to be added later in 2015.
Air Arabia announced the establishment of its fifth international hub in Jordan earlier this year following the acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in Petra Airlines leading to the creation of Air Arabia Jordan. The newly established carrier will be managed by Air Arabia and follow the airline’s successful low-cost business model.
The largest low-cost carrier operator in the Middle East and North Africa, Air Arabia began operations in October 2003 from its main hub at Sharjah International Airport in the UAE. It has since grown to serve more than 100 destinations, spanning Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia from four international hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt. The airline handled 6.8 million passengers in 2014, a 12 percent increase on 2013 volumes.
Air Arabia signed an MoU with Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) in March to promote Sharjah’s strategic projects and brands across the globe.
Source: Air Arabia
