Air Arabia aspires to grow more in Bangladesh: Group CEO

Air Arabia wants to have more engagements with Bangladesh as one of its key routes in South Asia, Adel Abdullah Ali, group CEO of the UAE-based airline, said on Thursday.

"It's a good and growing market. Our aspiration is to continue to grow," he told journalists during an event at a city hotel on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.

The low-cost carrier has been serving Bangladesh since 2007, with the first direct flight to Chattogram in June 2007, followed by direct flights to Dhaka in June 2008.

However, it started operations in 2003 in the Middle East and North Africa.

Air Arabia offers its service to and from Chattogram and Dhaka from two airports in the UAE, including Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, with a frequency of 57 non-stop flights per week.

"If you look at the last few years, your economy has grown robustly. It was a pleasure to be surprised to see what was happening. I was amazed by the beautiful airport," the CEO said.

"Your economy is doing well. It means prosperity starts with the public. Thus, people will travel. The more people travel, the more flights will be brought, and the more aircraft will be included in our fleet," he added.

So it is a win-win for everyone, he said, adding that the biggest winners are actually the public and the people who will travel.

"As I said, as demand increases, we need to increase frequencies. And those frequencies work on bilateral relationships between the governments of the UAE and Bangladesh," he said. "The current civil aviation authority in Bangladesh is extremely positive."

"Bangladesh is one of our key routes. As we have been successful for 17 years, it has grown, which is a successful business as well," said Adel Abdullah Ali.

Regarding the question of whether there is any plan to make Bangladesh a hub for Air Arabia, he said, "We don't have a plan to create a hub in Bangladesh at this moment."

The airline provides value-added air travel options to Bangladeshi travellers for both leisure and business purposes while contributing to further strengthening business, trade, and tourism ties between Bangladesh and the UAE.

Regarding the main success of the airline in their two-decade journey, he said that they have been able to make airfare affordable for common people.

"That's why Bangladeshi migrants in the Middle East can frequently fly each year," he continued.  

He also talked about the mixed fleet of the airline. However, he said they will continue their journey with Airbus, as the mixed fleet is much more expensive.

AirArabia owns and operates a fleet of 73 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, with 120 Airbus aircraft on order, expected to commence delivery in 2025. 

Among others, Rajesh Narula, regional general manager at AirArabia, and Md Abdur Rahim, chief executive officer of MGH, the general sales agent of AirArabia in Bangladesh, were present at the programme.