Etihad, Air Arabia launch new low-cost airline in UAE

Agencies
October 18, 2019

Sharjah, Oct 18: A new UAE budget carrier has been launched by Sharjah's Air Arabia and Abu Dhabi's Etihad Aviation Group, further increasing the competition in the aviation sector as well as giving UAE residents an additional economical option to choose from.

The new carrier - called Air Arabia Abu Dhabi - is the fifth airline to operate from the UAE after Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and Air Arabia, serving 9.5 million residents. Based out of Abu Dhabi International Airport, the new carrier will target the low-cost travel market segment in the Middle East region and complement Etihad Airways, said a Press statement released on Wednesday.

Etihad and Air Arabia currently operate a combined fleet of 162 aircraft, including 109 by the former and 53 by the latter. Air Arabia flies to 170 destinations across 50 countries through its Sharjah, Morocco and Egypt hubs while Etihad flies to 80 destinations.

Air Arabia Abu Dhabi has been launched against the backdrop of a tough aviation environment as 17 airlines have gone bust so far this year globally, including Jet Airways, Thomas Cook, Aigle Zur and XL Airways, Germania, Flybmi and Adria of Slovenia. But industry executives believe that the sector will pick up as global trade war eases ahead of elections in the US.

Tony Douglas, group CEO of Etihad Aviation Group, said the carrier will offer passengers a new option for low-cost travel to and from Abu Dhabi. "We look forward to the launch of the new airline in due course".

Adel Al Ali, group CEO of Air Arabia, said the UAE has developed over the years to become a leading travel and tourism hub and this partnership will further serve the growing low-cost travel segment locally and regionally.

However, the two UAE airlines didn't share the launch date as well as the destinations for the new carrier.

Abu Dhabi Airports said the new LCC will cater to the growing low-cost travel market through its hub in Abu Dhabi International Airport, strengthening the city's air connectivity and accessibility.

"It is anticipated that the airline will greatly increase the number of destinations served from Abu Dhabi International Airport, offering new choices to passengers to travel directly to previously unserved destinations," it said.

Aviation analysts say that the new carrier will first target Middle East and Asian markets which are underserved right now.

Mark D Martin, founder and CEO of Martin Consulting, said that the Air Arabia-Etihad model will cater to markets such as Pakistan, India, North Africa, Russia and the CIS and East Europe regions that have immense potential yet are under served.

Martin noted that Etihad's long-term strategy has always been with inorganic growth where it chose to expand by means of a merger or acquisition but this marks the first time where Etihad has chosen to co-venture with a successful partner and its proven model.

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research in London, said as Etihad is in the midst of financial restructuring and unable to launch its own low-cost carrier, the move to work with Air Arabia will help it to tap into a market that they do not have a presence.

"If anything, there's a big risk that Air Arabia will cannibalise some traffic that would otherwise travel to its hub in Sharjah," he said, adding that Etihad may want to push some services regionally to places like Saudi Arabia or re-enter Iran too.

For the new carrier, Ahmad believes, the fleet will likely come from Air Arabia's existing inventory to ensure that operations can commence quickly. "It will also ensure that costs stay capped and that both airlines can pool resources rather than having to wait for new airplanes."

Air Arabia is expected to announce order for 100-plus aircraft by January 2020, its group CEO Adel Ali said earlier this week.

Saj Ahmad noted that passengers will gain from using Etihad's big footprint at Abu Dhabi International and save them having to travel out to Sharjah just to get cheap flights.

"For the here and now, it's a better move for Etihad than it is for Air Arabia - but passengers will reap rewards regardless. As the partnership expands, the potential for connectivity growth and new markets will ensure that the partnership mirrors that of Emirates and flydubai," he added.

The carrier's board of directors will be nominated jointly by Etihad and Air Arabia to steer the company's independent strategy and business mandate.

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News Network
October 2,2024

Yemeni Armed Forces have launched a series of attacks on Israeli military positions deep inside the occupied territories, in solidarity with Palestinian and Lebanese people amid the Tel Aviv regime’s ongoing offensives in the Gaza Strip and across Lebanon.

Delivering a televised statement broadcast live from the capital Sana’a on Wednesday morning, Yemen’s military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the country’s missile units had fired three domestically-developed Quds-5 cruise missiles at the strategic installations.

He added that the missiles managed to strike the designated targets precisely, despite the Zionist regime’s attempts to conceal the losses it sustained in the aftermath of the missile attack.

Saree also hailed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation True Promise II, against Israel, stressing that Yemeni Armed Forces are prepared to participate in any joint military operation against the Zionist enemy in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese nations, and in response to Israeli atrocities.

“The continued US and British support for the Israeli enemy will put their interests in the region in jeopardy. Yemeni Armed Forces will not hesitate to expand their military operations against the Zionist enemy and its sponsors until the ongoing aggression against Gaza stops, the siege on the coastal territory is completely lifted, and the attacks on Lebanon come to an end,” he pointed out.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have said they will not stop their attacks until unrelenting Israeli ground and aerial offensives in Gaza end.

So far, Israel has killed at least 41,638 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 96,460 others in Gaza.

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News Network
October 1,2024

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah says it targeted Israel's Glilot military base and Mossad headquarters in the outskirts of Tel Aviv with salvos of Fadi-4 rockets.

Israeli reports said several settlers were injured in the rocket barrage from Lebanon on Tel Aviv.

The reports said the rocket attack from Lebanon was “the largest” since the beginning of the war.

Hezbollah earlier said it struck gatherings of Israeli troopers in artillery and rocket attacks on the northern part of the occupied Palestinian territories in retaliation for Israel’s deadly strikes on Lebanon.

In separate statements released on Tuesday, the resistance movement said the gatherings of the enemy troops were hit at the Shtula, Metulla, Avivim and Rosh Pina settlements.

The resistance also targeted the Doviv barracks with a Falaq-2 rockets as well as the gathering of Israeli forces near the settlement of Rosh Pina with a rocket barrage.

The resistance group added that it had conducted the operations in support of “steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and … their valiant and honorable resistance, and in defense of Lebanon and its people.”

The attacks came amid a major escalation in Israel’s acts of terror and aggression in Lebanon that saw the regime assassinating Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on southern Beirut.

The death toll from Israeli aerial assaults across Lebanon since early October 2023 has reached 1,745 with some 8,767 injured, according to Lebanese government data. In response, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets and drones towards Israeli targets.

The deadly exchange of fire was sparked by Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed 41,615 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded 96,359 others over the past year.

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News Network
October 1,2024

damascus.jpg

The Israeli regime has conducted a series of deadly airstrikes on the Syrian capital of Damascus, with Syrian media reporting three rounds of strikes in the capital area in one night.

An Israeli aircraft launched several missiles from the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, targeting locations southwest of Damascus.

Syrian air defenses successfully intercepted many of these missiles, according to the Syrian state media.

According to the Syrian military, the Israeli aggression led to the martyrdom of three civilians, the injury of nine others, and significant damage to private property.

The Al Mayadeen news outlet reports that local journalist Safaa Ahmad was among those killed in the attack, which hit the Mezzeh neighborhood in the Syrian capital. Rescue crews are dealing with fires on the ground.

Syrian television said one of its anchors was killed in the Israeli strike on Damascus on Tuesday.

State television said in a statement that it "mourns anchor Safaa Ahmad who was martyred in the Israeli aggression on the capital Damascus."

The official SANA news agency earlier said "air defense systems are intercepting hostile targets for the third time tonight in the Damascus area," using a phrase that usually refers to Israeli aggression.

Subsequently, another wave of attacks was aimed at the suburbs of Damascus which was intercepted by air defenses.

Syria has consistently called on the UN Security Council to take action against these assaults, which it views as clear violations of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Israel frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah which has played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists.

The Tel Aviv regime rarely comments on its attacks on Syrian territories, which many see as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s phenomenal success in confronting and decimating terrorism.

Damascus has time and again called on the UN Security Council to put an end to the regime’s attacks that violate Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Israeli attacks on Syria come amid the regime’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 41,600 people, mostly women and children, over the past year.

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