Page 274 - SHARJAH AIRPORT PR REPORT - OCTOBER 2023

10/27/23, 9:58 AM Air Arabia upbeat about growth amid shift to Abu Dhabi's new airport terminal
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is widely considered to be the most significant contributor to helping the airline
industry reach its goal of net-zero by 2050, but supplies are limited, making it more expensive than kerosene.

“SAF means increasing ticket prices by five times more to break even, so it's not a practical solution,” Mr Ali
said.
Asked about the impact of oil price volatility, as the Israel-Gaza war stokes fears of an escalation in the oil-
producing region, Mr Ali said the airline was continuing with its oil-hedging policy.

Pioneering low-cost travel 20 years ago

Adel Ali introduced the concept of low-cost travel to the Middle East when Air Arabia began operations in October 2003. Photo: Air Arabia
Air Arabia launched its inaugural flight from Sharjah to Bahrain in October 28, 2003, when Mr Ali first
introduced the concept of low-cost travel to the region 20 years ago.
The airline, which was established on February 3, 2003 by royal decree, began operations with two Airbus
A320s, flying short-haul trips to Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Syria.

The idea was to democratise air travel and make travel accessible to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
“It has been a fantastic journey,” said Mr Ali, reflecting on the 20-year
experience. “The most significant part is revolutionising air travel in the
region, enabling people who weren't able to travel by air before to get on
It's been a fantastic journey. The a plane.”
most significant part is
revolutionising air travel in the Introducing the idea of budget travel was not easy at the outset as people
region, enabling people who had stereotypes, such as uncomfortable seats or old aircraft, which
weren't able to travel by air before required changing this mindset, he said.
to get on a plane “Low-cost carriers 20 years ago was a bad thing to have. The public knew
Adel Ali, group chief executive of Air Arabia very little about it … we had to educate the public about this business
model,” Mr Ali said.

“For us, we find success is the number of people that never got on [a] plane and now it’s a normal part of their
lives. That was our aim and objective.”

The airline became profitable in its first year of operations.

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