Air Arabia Continues Iraqi Expansion

Just a week after United Arab Emirates (UAE) low-cost carrier Air Arabia announced it will launch flights to a second destination in Iraq it has revealed plans to add services to a third. Following on from its October 14, 2012 launch of a four times weekly link to Erbil, the budget carrier will add a three times weekly offering to Basra from its Sharjah International Airport base from November 4, 2012. This will extend the network of the Middle East and North African airline group to 79 different destinations.

"We are pleased to announce the launch of our services to Basra, our third destination in Iraq after Najaf and Erbil. This step reflects the commitment we place on serving the Iraqi market," said Adel Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer, Air Arabia.

"This new service will further strengthen our current flights to Iraq and offer customers wider choice of affordable air travel; and at the same contribute to the trade and tourism ties between the UAE and Iraq," he added.

Located in the Southern Iraq, Basra is the second largest city in Iraq after the Capital Baghdad. The city is known for its large petroleum resources and fertile agriculture region. Air Arabia made its debut in the Iraqi market in March 2011 when it launched flights between Sharjah and Najaf. It will now offer 18 flights per week between UAE and Iraq.

Alongside Air Arabia’s services from Sharjah, Emirates Airline has non-stop flights from Dubai to Baghdad, Basrah and Erbil; flydubai operates from Dubai to Baghdad, Basrah, Erbil, Najaf and Sulaymaniyah; Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Baghdad, Basrah and Erbil and Iraqi Airways serves Dubai from Baghdad, Basrah, Erbil, Najaf and Sulaymaniyah.

In the table below we highlight the current seat capacity between Iraq and the United Arab Emirates by operator. Air Arabia currently has an 8.6 per cent share of the total seat capacity between the two countries, a market dominated by Emirates Airline and low-cost carrier flydubai. Over three quarters of all the capacity from the UAE to Iraq departs from Dubai, while ahead of Air Arabia’s debut on the Sharjah – Erbil and Sharjah – Basra routes there is already over 12,000 seats a week to the Iraqi city from the UAE.