Air Arabia sees significant traffic growth for October

Air Arabia has announced that it has welcomed 458,316 passengers in October 2012, an increase of over 22% compared to the corresponding month in 2011.

The airline also reported that the average seat load factor - passengers as a percentage of total seats available - for the month stood at 80%, registering an increase of 3% over the figure for October 2011.

Adel Ali, group chief executive officer, Air Arabia said: "Combined with Eid break, which is a busy period for air travel across the region, October has seen Air Arabia adding set of new routes.

"As we continue expanding into new markets, more customers continue to take full advantage of Air Arabia's affordable fares, demonstrating Air Arabia's proven business model and product offering," he added.

Air Arabia recently added six new destinations to its ever growing network - Erbil in Iraq, Uffa and Rostov in Russia, Odessa in Ukraine, Pristina in Kosovo and Astana in Kazakhstan.

The carrier also expanded operations from its Moroccan hub and launched new flights between Morocco and London, bringing Air Arabia's global network to reach 81 destinations.

Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: "Air Arabia has leveraged its expansive position not only to launch a number of new routes, but its appeal to passengers as a leading low cost solution for travel has been instrumental in their traffic growth last month.

"The UAE continues to lead the charge for both international and regional travel, despite ongoing concerns about Syria.

"Sharjah's location has also assisted Air Arabia's growth - positioned away from the busier cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi while retaining good infrastructure links has ensured passengers benefit from wider access through Air Arabia's network at a more efficient, less congested hub.

"Air Arabia continues to lead the market for low cost airline growth ahead of its erstwhile rival flydubai. If anything, the growth of both carriers demonstrates not just market robustness for low cost airline travel demand, it highlights a growing trend for customers to access new markets that are underserved by existing GCC airlines."