Mideast LCCs set for robust 2010 and increased competition
29 Dec 2009
With Dubai launching its first budget carrier, flydubai, six months earlier, it may now be Abu Dhabi's turn to launch its own. If this launch becomes a reality, sometime in mid-2010, then it will become United Arab Emirates' third low-cost carrier. According to reports in the local media the carrier is being financed by an Abu Dhabi investment firm whose name has remained undisclosed.
The new carrier will compete with Sharjah's Air Arabia and Dubai's flydubai, besides other budget carriers operating in the Middle East. The region has seen eight LCCs being established over the past six years.
All these low-cost carriers are set to perform well in 2010, given their robust performance in 2009.
Kuwaiti LCC Jazeera Airways has said it is eyeing acquisitions in the first half of 2010, even as it seeks to expand its network to 82 routes over the next five years. It has already displaced Kuwait Airways as the largest operator from Kuwait Airport, according to a CAPA report.
Sharjah-based Air Arabia has seen its net profit shoot up 21 per cent, to Dh193 million, in the first half of 2009, compared to the same period a year earlier.
Air Arabia's joint venture, Air Arabia Egypt, is due to take off in March 2010.
