Airblue increases frequency to UAE

Dubai: Airblue has become the largest private airline operating out of the UAE to Pakistan with 35 flights per week, according to a senior official.

"With the launching of new flights from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi to destinations in Pakistan, we have become the largest private airline operating to three emirates in the UAE," said Syed Nasir Ali, Managing Director of Airblue.

Ali told Gulf News in Dubai that the airline is working on a plan to expand its operation to other GCC countries to tap ethnic traffic as more than two million Pakistanis are working in these countries.

"The economic recession has not affected our international operation to the UAE, though we are badly affected on our domestic sectors," he said. "There are around 900,000 Pakistanis living in the UAE and we are still operating with above 95 per cent capacity," he added.

The airline which started its operation three years ago with just seven flights a week on Dubai-Karachi sector, has grown very fast.

"With the launch of our operations from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, we are now operating 35 flights per week from Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi to five destinations in Pakistan," said Ali.

He said the operation from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi is part of airline's plan to expand its operation in the Gulf region. "We have already started flights from Lahore to Muscat and soon will start flights to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait," he added. Airblue is the first Pakistani airline which offers complete e-ticketing and online seat reservation facility to passengers.

He said the airline would soon operate daily flights on its Sharjah-Lahore sector adding three more flights per week. It will also soon start flights on Abu Dhabi-Peshawar sector.

Responding to the complaints about frequent delays in flights which passengers have been facing for the last few months, Ali said that the issue would be resolved with the induction of more aircraft soon.

"We are concerned about it and are working on this issue," he said. Airblue's fleet consists of nine aircraft.