WORLD ROUTES: Air Arabia Adds Erbil to Iraqi Network

United Arab Emirates (UAE) low-cost carrier Air Arabia has announced it will launch flights to a second destination in Iraq with a four times weekly service to Erbil from its Sharjah International Airport base starting on October 14, 2012. This will extend the network of the Middle East and North African airline group to 76 different destinations.

"We are pleased to announce our services to Erbil, which is a continuation of Air Arabia's promise to expand our Middle Eastern presence," said Adel Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer, Air Arabia. "Erbil has seen promising growth in the past years with major developments across various sectors of the economy.”

Located in the Northern Iraq, Erbil is the fourth largest city in Iraq. The city has a population of 1.3 million, and is a major business and cultural hub. We are confident that Air Arabia's services to the fourth largest city in Iraq will further contribute to the trade and tourism ties between the UAE and Iraq," added Adel Ali

Air Arabia made its debut in the Iraqi market in March 2011 when it launched flights between Sharjah and Najaf. 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 route there is already over 12,000 seats a week to the Iraqi city from the UAE.