By Abdul Basit
Air Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier, has joined hands with Pakistan’s Lakson Group to launch a budget airline – Fly Jinnah – for domestic and international operations from Pakistan.
The announcement was made on Friday. Fly Jinnah will operate as a joint venture between the Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia and Karachi-based Lakson Group.
The new airline would help Pakistan’s travel and tourism sector and contribute to the country’s economic growth and job creation.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan in a tweet welcomed Air Arabia to Pakistan and wished the group success in establishing the new airline. The premier also met the top officials of Air Arabia in Islamabad, Pakistan, in the presence of Pakistan’s aviation minister.
“My government is committed to attracting investment in Pakistan’s burgeoning travel & tourism sector which offers immense opportunities,” Imran Khan says in the tweet.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia, said Fly Jinnah will initially be based in Karachi serving a range of domestic routes across Pakistan and then will expand its route network internationally.
He said the new carrier will follow the low-cost business model and provide its customer base with a reliable operation and value-driven product.
“We are confident that Fly Jinnah will add value to the air transport sector of Pakistan and directly contribute to the local economy through job creation and the development of the travel and tourism sector,” Al Thani said.
Iqbal Ali Lakhani, Chairman of Lakson Group, said Fly Jinnah will serve Pakistan’s travel and tourism sector and will play a constructive role in contributing to the nation’s economic growth.
“This partnership also reflects our commitment to support the development of Pakistan’s air transport sector while providing the citizens and visitors of the country with a new option of value for money air travel. Air Arabia enjoys a track record of reliable and efficient operations, and we look forward to working closely towards launching and developing the new airline,” Lakhani said.
Air Arabia operates from Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, and the carrier also has joint-ventures in Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Morocco and Armenia. Its shares are listed on the Dubai Financial Market.
The airline has been pushing ahead to expand in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak last year as low-cost carriers bet on a post-pandemic surge in travel.
Last July, the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) and Air Arabia announced the signing of an agreement to launch Armenia’s new national airline. The agreement will see the establishment of an independent joint venture company that will operate as a low-cost passenger airline with Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport (EVN) as its base. The latest announcement on Sept. 1, 2021, said that the airline name will be ‘Fly Arna’. – abdulbasit@theuaenews.com
