More new air services for Abu Dhabi

Ivan Gale

• Last Updated: November 24. 2009 8:02PM UAE / November 24. 2009 4:02PM GMT

Aviation officials have promised more new services from the capital next year after eight new airlines began flying to Abu Dhabi International Airport this year.

Bringing in new carriers is part of the emirate’s strategy to diversify the economy through trade and tourism, and efforts by Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) have seen Sun Air of Sudan, Safi Airways of Afghanistan, and Ukrainian International Airlines begin new services to the capital.

Yesterday, Air Asia X, a long-haul affiliate of the budget carrier Air Asia based in Kuala Lumpur, began flights to the capital.

Air Asia X chose Abu Dhabi as its sole Middle East destination from Kuala Lumpur, and began selling thousands of free and low-priced promotional tickets at midnight last night on its website.

The airline may increase operations to seven flights a week, from five, and begin onward flights from the UAE to a European city as early as next year, said Azran Osman Rani, the chief executive of Air Asia X.

“Next year we receive three new planes and we have to decide where to deploy them,” Mr Rani said. “The onward destination remains a very interesting option and we have had some detailed discussions with a number of European airports, especially those which do not have any connectivity with Abu Dhabi.”

Mr Rani said the cities of interest were in southern and eastern Europe but Air Asia X could delay this expansion until 2011 if it received approvals to other cities first.

Air Asia X prefers to use the new planes arriving next year to begin flights from its Malaysian base to Sydney, Seoul and New Delhi, he said.

ADAC officials said they were in talks with new airlines from underserved markets and hoped to welcome further carriers next year.

“We see Africa as an area underserved by Abu Dhabi,” said George Karamanos, the recently appointed vice president of corporate marketing and communications at ADAC.

Mr Karamanos said the UAE capital could become “Africa’s gateway to Asia” with Etihad Airways expanding its network and African carriers starting new services in the next few years.

Next year, Etihad Airways has committed to opening two new services, to Tokyo and Nagoya, starting in March, as its entry into Japan.

Next year it will receive two new long-haul Airbus A330-300s, in addition to two new freighter aircraft after increasing its fleet by 10 new planes this year.

igale@thenational.ae