Air Arabia’s group CEO, Adel Abdullah Ali, has revealed plans to expand the airline’s business in Bangladesh, considering the country a key route for future growth. During his inaugural visit to Bangladesh, Ali expressed optimism about the continued growth of the aviation sector in the country. He emphasized the positive trend in Bangladesh’s aviation industry, indicating a potential for sustained growth.
Ali highlighted Bangladesh’s suitability for aviation business, citing AirArabia’s successful growth of three to four percent year-on-year in the country over the past 17 years. As the largest low-cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, AirArabia introduced its low-cost business model to the region in 2003 and commenced operations in Bangladesh in 2007.
The CEO acknowledged Bangladesh-UAE as one of the key routes for AirArabia, currently operating 57 non-stop weekly flights between Dhaka and Chattogram. Ali suggested that the airline would consider increasing flight frequencies based on the economic situation, anticipating that rapid economic growth would attract more airlines and boost flight frequencies, creating a mutually beneficial scenario.
AirArabia, with seven strategic hubs across the UAE, Morocco, Egypt, Armenia, and Pakistan, currently operates over 190 international and domestic routes in approximately 50 countries. The airline’s fleet comprises 73 Airbus A320 and A321 planes, with an additional order for 120 Airbus A320 family aircraft, including A320neo, A321neo-LR, and A321 XLR, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2025.
Ali revealed plans to cover all European destinations within two years of receiving the A321 XLR aircraft, capable of flying for more than 8 hours. He emphasized AirArabia’s role in democratizing air travel in the Arab world, making it accessible to all segments of the community with reasonable ticket prices.
Present at the event were AirArabia’s regional general manager, Rajesh Nurala, and MGH CEO Abdur Rahim, the airline’s general sales agent (GSA) in Bangladesh.