Business | Aviation
Nasair could land in Abu Dhabi in weeks
Saudi Arabian low-fare airline Nasair hopes to start flights to Abu Dhabi in a few weeks, and will add Dubai to its network later as the company pursues international route expansion.
- By Shakir Husain, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:29 March 14, 2008
Dubai: Saudi Arabian low-fare airline Nasair hopes to start flights to Abu Dhabi in a few weeks, and will add Dubai to its network later as the company pursues international route expansion.
Sharjah on Wednesday became the first foreign destination for the airline, which has 21 destinations within Saudi Arabia.
The airline will operate 10 flights a week linking Riyadh and Jeddah to Sharjah.
CEO Edward Winter told Gulf News that flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai are a top priority because of heavy passenger traffic between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
"Unfortunately, we could not obtain slots at Dubai airport. Obviously, we would like to get these slots in future," he said.
Nasair expects to announce flights to Abu Dhabi in the "next few weeks."
Winter said for a Saudi Arabian airline "the UAE is such an important market to serve" because of the flow of both leisure and religious travel. Outside the Gulf region, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen are among the key markets Nasair has identified for route expansion.
"Over the coming weeks and months we will be rolling out a lot more international destinations. The key traffic flows will be the UAE, India, Pakistan and Egypt. Religious traffic is very important," Winter said.
Talking about the growth prospects for the budget airline sector in the region, he said it will grow "the same way it developed in Europe and Asia."
Aircraft leasing
The airline is also leasing several aircraft to serve the expanding network.
It will get two Airbus320s to join its fleet this year and three are expected in early 2009. It will lease two Embraer 195s next month and three more later this year.
The company has signed a deal with Airbus to buy 20 A320s, with an option on 18 more. The delivery of these aircraft will begin in 2012, Winter said.
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