Contributor - Middle East

Peter Shaw-Smith

While Flydubai’s problems with delays to recertification of the Boeing 737 Max have been the dominant regional low-cost carrier (LCC) theme of late, several other airlines, such as Oman’s Salam Air, Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways, and Saudi Arabia’s Flynas are busy making a name for themselves.

 


Salam Air said in October it expects&nbsp;to carry 1.3 million passengers in 2019&nbsp;and to more than double this figure to 3 million next year, with its fleet of seven Airbus A320s, which are generating load factors of 85 percent. Jazeera Airways launched flights to London Gatwick on October 27.

 


Saudi Arabia’s Flynas announced in September that it had taken delivery of a fourth A320neo from its SAR32 billion ($8.5 billion) deal with Airbus to purchase 120 A320neo aircraft by 2026. Flynas operates a fleet of 30 Airbus A320s, with more than&nbsp;1,100 flights weekly to 17 domestic and 53 international destinations. "Since its launch [in 2007], Flynas has successfully carried more than 38 million passengers from its bases of Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Abha," it said.

 


Saudi Arabia's Flyadeal committed to an all-Airbus A320 fleet when it scrapped orders for 30 Boeing 737 Maxes in July. The deal was part of an increased Saudi Arabian Airlines order for 100 aircraft signed at the Paris Air Show in June. "This order will result in Flyadeal operating an all-Airbus A320 fleet in the future,"&nbsp;Flyadeal said. Another regional LCC to feel the effects of the Max situation is Cairo-based flyEgypt, which has leased three 737 Maxes through three lessors, according to information from Boeing.

 


Sharjah, UAE-based Air Arabia is on the lookout for new hubs in the region. It announced a tie-up with Etihad Airways in October to set up Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, to be based in the UAE capital.

 


Iraq, Syria, and Algeria are all seen as future Air Arabia hub possibilities. “We wanted to fly from here to Algeria,” CEO Adel Al Ali said. “The traffic rights exist, but as things stood, the last few months of the last regime were taking place. We were trying to fly there, but it took some time to get the rights, the paperwork [sorted out]. Until we see some clarity of what happens there, there is no point in progressing.”

 


Air Arabia uses&nbsp;European cities for stopovers to&nbsp;bypass&nbsp;the difficulties posed by the range of the Airbus A320, particularly in bridging the distance between Sharjah, its main hub, and Casablanca, Morocco, its second-largest. “You've got to stop in Istanbul,” he said. “You could also do it now from Vienna or Prague. Soon we will add Tunis. We take two airplanes: one leaves Casablanca, the other from here. They arrive at the same time into Istanbul, and, within 35 minutes, you just change planes.”

 


However, the longer-range A321LR and XLR variants, lovechild of the burgeoning low-cost long-haul sector, will put the airline’s two hubs within easy reach of each other if it decides to go for them.

 


Al Ali was mindful of levels of LCC industry competition, especially in Morocco.&nbsp;“It's a tough business,” he said. “You're going to Europe, so you're competing with the European big boys, whether Ryanair or easyJet. The reality of today is that you don't only compete low cost-to-low cost, but also with anybody who has an airplane flying on the same route. So it is tough competition; you have got to make sure that you drive your costs down all the time&nbsp;and are able to sustain the business in a profitable manner.”

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