Air Arabia Abu Dhabi eyes greater Balkan presence


Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, the low cost joint venture between Air Arabia and Etihad Airways, is marking the second anniversary since its launch this week and has plans to significantly grow its operations in the coming period, including in the Balkans. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi is currently focused on the Middle East and Indian subcontinent markets, serving 24 destinations with a fleet of eight Airbus A320 narrowbodies. It will carry some one million passengers this year. “As the world reopens, we will be looking at many, many more routes”, the airline’s CEO, Adel Abdulla Ali, said. “We will put a circle around Abu Dhabi and wherever we find potential within four to six hours, we'd like to do those routes, including Europe”, Mr Ali added.

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi’s only destination in the former Yugoslavia is Sarajevo, which it serves on a seasonal summer basis, however, there is further room for growth, despite competition from Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, which currently maintains flights to both Sarajevo and Belgrade. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi is expected to take over a number of former and present Etihad routes operated by single-aisle aircraft in the near future. Etihad Airways served the Serbian capital until the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, with a brief return during the summer of 2020. It handled 114.256 passengers between the two cities in 2019. With the low cost carrier’s aim to supply passengers onto Etihad’s long haul network, the Serbian capital presents itself as a potential future route.

Skopje has been left without a nonstop service to the Gulf since the start of the pandemic, with neither Flydubai nor Qatar Airways, which previously maintained operations to the Macedonian capital, including the city in their upcoming respective winter season networks. Last year, the Macedonian government announced the launch of flights to Abu Dhabi through Wizz Air. However, the service never materialised. On the other hand, Dubai has become one of Pristina’s busiest unserved routes, with Abu Dhabi being a potential alternative.

Air Arabia has had mixed track record in the former Yugoslavia. While it has been successfully serving Sarajevo from both Sharjah and Abu Dhabi over the past few years, in 2011, the budget airline introduced a two weekly service from Dubai to Tuzla, which were cancelled a month later due to extremely poor loads. In 2012, the airline launched two weekly flights between Sharjah and Pristina. The service was also discontinued within a month. In 2019, the airline scheduled four weekly flights between Sharjah and Belgrade, which were to launch in June of that year. However, ticket sales were discontinued after four month and the route was never launched.



Comments

  1. Anonymous07:05

    It makes most sense for them to start Skopje seeing as both QR and FZ are nowhere to be seen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:09

      There is probably a reason for that.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous07:14

      I don't get the reason. I understand QR is not (and won't) be back until summer 2023 since they have a big fleet shortage and world cup is coming up where they are focusing on markets qualified to World Cup (they are even reducing frequencies on other markets during this time) but Fly Dubai I don't get. There is P2P demand plus transfers. So Air Arabia could shake things up.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:26

      There just doesn't seem to be enough demand for SKP.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:39

      Yet QR and FZ flew to Skopje before Covid.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:29

      TK rules the market in Skopje.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous07:06

    There are rumours Etihad will offload entire narrow body fleet to Air Arabia. Will be interesting to see what happens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:18

      How far has EY fallen...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous07:23

      Actually they have really improved a lot in the last two years under new management.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:29

      Risky move

      Delete
    4. Anonymous19:28

      Anonymous 07:18
      Fallen, yet making a profit in the middle of the pandemic? Sure.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous07:08

    Hope they start Pristina. Just this time around they do it properly and don't sell tickets through tour operators like last time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:25

      I think they had proper ticket sales to PRN. The Tuzla flights were through tour operator.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous07:30

      ^ And were a colossal failure

      Delete
    3. Anonymous07:52

      TZL has said they are negotiating flights to the Gulf. Maybe its Air Arabia.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous08:03

      They have said many things over the years.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous07:11

    With Wizz Air Abu Dhabi around, I don't see them flying to many ex-Yu markets.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:22

      Why not? They would get transfer passengers in combination with Etihad. Something Wizz can't.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:30

      But there is already Flydubai for that

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:53

      Transferring between LCC and traditional airline is not popular, even in the case of EK/FZ. Few people use these combinations. Majority of pax are P2P and majority of transfers are within FZ network.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:05

      Precisely, it's not a happy arrangement, one of the reasons Singapore Airlines integrated Silk Air fully and abandoned combining LCC/Hybrid with mainline SQ.

      But EK/FZ combination is not that uncommon - plenty of traffic going onwards to Australia, Far East, Middle East and Africa. That is why QR and EY did much better on the BEG segment with transiting traffic than FZ, as transiting pax really did not like the DXB-BEG sectors having flown a starkly better EK product beforehand (or viceversa).

      People connecting on to another FZ flight... different story.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous07:16

    It would be better if Air Arabia launched flights from Morocco to ex-Yu.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:18

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous07:57

      Agree. Would prefer if their Moroccan subsidiary started flights.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:42

      Most ex-Yu countries need visas for Morocco.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:52

      Don't Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia also need visa for UAE?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:02

      Yes. But it's much easier to get

      Delete
  6. Anonymous07:17

    Not a great airline

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:26

      Why? What are they like?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous07:35

      ULCC

      Delete
    3. Anonymous07:47

      Sharjah ground experience leaves a lot to be desired. Not sure about AUH.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous07:55

      Etihad's ground experience in Abu Dhabi is far from great so I can imagine Air Arabia's.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous08:17

      Things will grately improve when they open the midfield terminal.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:36

      If it ever opens. It has been sitting almost completed for years.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:41

      Rest assured Air Arabia won't use it, even when it finally opens

      Delete
    8. Anonymous13:54

      Is there any indication when it might open?

      Delete
  7. Anonymous07:24

    Can Etihad Guest customers benefit from flying with Air Arabia Abu Dhabi? Like Skywards customers with Flydubai?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous07:29

      Yes. Also if you book an Etihad flight connecting onto Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, you get complimentary meal and luggage on Air Arabia Abu Dhabi.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous07:35

      Thank you! So similar to the arrangement Emirates and Flydubai have.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous07:46

      Yep

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:59

      Only difference is Flydubai offers much better product than Air Arabia. It also has business class

      Delete
  8. Anonymous07:31

    Those Arab sudden huge expansions should always be looked with precaution. We all remember almost the same high ambitions for Sharjah-Belgrade for example.
    Also and in general there is a much more high demand for and from Dubai in winter compared to the more conservative Abu Dhabi especially from many parts in the Balkans.
    On my opinion it make much more sense to launch warm winter destinations to UAE such as Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai and certainly not Abu Dhabi.
    Plus Air Arabia do not generally have the best reputation. Also, good luck with AUH-SKP when it is even difficult to launch basic and fundamental flights to CDG, AMS or FRA/MUC.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous08:03

    What about LJU?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous08:07

      It took 10 years to negoatiate Flydubai. I highly doubt we will see another Gulf airline anytime soon.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:06

      I don't think there would be enough demand for two players. Qatar Airways could work since it is a different type of airline.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:17

      LJU can be taken seriously if only it manages to handle more than a million passengers annual.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:37

      When I believe most airports will have better July results than June, I doubt LJU will have.

      Delete
    5. It is funny that on the almost every article about some airport, there is a coment 'What about LJU?" 🤣

      Delete
    6. Anonymous22:47

      Because there is enough demand for most of the routes.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous08:08

    Skopje please!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:56

      Read the article: " Last year, the North Macedonian government announced the launch of flights to Abu Dhabi through Wizz Air. However, the service never materialised.". No interest maybe?

      Delete
  11. Anonymous08:22

    They should target markets where FZ is not present. Maybe Podgorica, Pristina, Skopje...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:07

      If Flydubai doesnt work from these destinations, then Air Arabia will make even less sense ...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous19:32

      Flydubai never tried PRN.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous08:38

    Are they a real lowcost airline or one of thos hybrids?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous08:38

    Good luck to them but I don't think there is room for two players on these markets and I think Fly Dubai is in a much better position.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous09:09

    That's going to be a lot of capacity to the UAE.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      The more the better

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:10

    Their prices are similar to Fly Dubai. So I don't think they will be too competitive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:29

      And Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is cheaper.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:55

      Not really

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:12

    They offer pretty good transfer options to India.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:22

      Transiting trough Dubai offers you much more opportunities than Abu Dhabi.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous09:23

    Nice

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous09:34

    There is also Air Arabia Egypt and Air Arabia Morocco. Maybe they should look into those serving the region.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous09:46

    If this happens it would be interesting to see how Flydubai responds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:30

      Hopefully they reduce their high prices a bit.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:47

    How many weekly flights do they have to Sarajevo?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:49

      From Abu Dhabi I mean

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:59

      4 weekly

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:25

      Plus 2 by Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:42

      But only Wizz in winter

      Delete
    5. Anonymous17:29

      Sarajevo's Gulf demand is highly seasonal and almost completely P2P.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous09:53

    Doubt they will be successful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:58

      Why do you think that buddy? Share your thoughts and analyses with us.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:26

      Do you really think he has analyses?

      Delete
    3. It is just a tipical Balkan mentality 🤣 No analyses not needed

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:26

    I think AUH-INI can be their next destination.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:36

      And I think you are a troll

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:55

      Why?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:28

      You seriously think there is demand for flights from the Gulf to Niš and vice versa?

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:28

    What is the indirect traffic flow between ex-Yu capitals and Abu Dhabi?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:42

      Not a lot.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:43

      "Etihad Airways served the Serbian capital until the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, with a brief return during the summer of 2020. It handled 114.256 passengers between the two cities in 2019. "

      Well this is a lot.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:51

      98% of which were transfers

      Delete
  24. Anonymous10:52

    Wow, Etihad played BEG dirty during Covid crisis and now they want through Air Arabia a massive share again!?
    Sorry guys, it’s too late, there’s Wizz to AUH and Qatar, Flydubai have already increased frequencies because of transfers.

    This is a classic example how someone underestimates the certain market !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:56

      Like someone said, you snooze you loose. That's why Qatar it's currently packed from Belgrade in both directions.

      Delete
  25. Anonymous12:50

    It looks BEG is focused on securing Emirates at the moment. If that happens I don't see much room for Etihad games. You snooze, you loose. It bothers me more cause JU doesn't get anyone from Middle East for their regional and European network nor they're feeding anyone at Middle East for long haul. And there are so much traffic between ME and Balkans.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:56

      Why do you believe BEG is focused on bringing EK?

      I know Brnabic had a meeting with EK CEO but nothing more than that.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:01

      BEG is still very far from securing EK. I mean if much bigger OTP failed to do it and focus on more FZ flights, then why the need to launch EK? At the end of the day, FZ was actually the greatest EK "saviour" especially on routes with lower demand and during the pandemic. The Max is the perfect aircraft for a 4-5 hour flight where you can also experience a premium service.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:41

      Because of cargo. Emirates' planes are the only one at the moment that can handle it properly. That was the main topic in the mentioned meeting. Same goes with Budapest which doesn't have enough (premium) passengers for Emirates service too but cargo is huge so the flights are on.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous13:57

    I'm surprised Wizz AUH didn't start fights to Skopje. They were announced by the minister.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:27

      Wouldn't be the first time a politician announced a route that didn't happen.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:31

      He actuality announced (minister) that they signed an agreement with Wizz to start the route. So I also wonder what happened.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:48

      They probably didn't get the money they asked for.

      Delete
  27. Anonymous18:14

    Where does Air Arabia Abu Dhabi fly to in Europe?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:47

      Only Sarajevo and Tbilisi.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:47

      Tbilisi is year round.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous20:27

      I'm surprised by how few destinations they have in Europe.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous20:32

      Their main focus had been on India

      Delete
  28. Anonymous19:12

    The negativity towards Air Arabia here on this blog is proof that nobody ever used them .
    But hey are a good airline !
    Just low cost and how can you compare that to Etihad ?
    I would compare them to the likes of Easyjet/Wizz Air .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:29

      Have you flown with them?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous18:38

      I work in Dubai and very often use them .
      Sharjah airport is practically Dubais second airport and not far from where i have my apartment .

      Delete

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