Air Arabia announced last year that it signed an agreement with Airbus for the acquisition of up to 49 A320 aircraft.
The Sharjah based airline’s deal, which has a book value approaching $3.5 billion at list prices, will more than triple the size of Air Arabia’s fleet, and underlines its stated ambition to increase its total operating fleet to over 50 aircraft by 2015.
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani, chairman, Air Arabia, said the decision to choose the Airbus A320 reflects the company’s objectives in continuously providing the best value for money services in the region. “Our vision is to be one of the world’s leading low-cost carriers in terms of profit margins, innovation, reputation and operational excellence. Having the A320 at the heart of our fleet is the best and quickest way we can achieve this. The aircraft has an outstanding success record throughout the world and is ideal for our needs and those of our customers,” he said.
“We are pleased Air Arabia is expanding with our A320 family. The decision reflects the technological superiority of the A320, as well as the wider fuselage for operational efficiency and added passenger comfort with increased storage volume. The aircraft has the lowest operating costs in its class,” Tom Enders, Airbus president and CEO, added.
Air Arabia already operates 11 leased A320s, and serves a network of 37 destinations across the Middle East, North Africa, Indian subcontinent and central Asia. Launched in 2003 and based in Sharjah, Air Arabia has served more than five million passengers over the past four years.