ABU DHABI, 4 November 2003 — A day after the inaugural flight of Air Arabia, a no frills airline launched in the United Arab Emirates, the capital Abu Dhabi announced it would be setting up Etihad as a new carrier.
Etihad, which is yet to be formally launched, is backed by the government of Abu Dhabi and has a paid up capital of 500 million dirhams ($136 million), reported yesterday’s Gulf News.
Etihad, meaning unity, which has two leased Airbus A330-200 aircraft, will make its inaugural flight on Nov. 5, flying from Abu Dhabi to the UAE desert city of Al Ain.
The airline, set up by royal decree as a public shareholding company with financial autonomy, was not answering phone calls yesterday.
Abu Dhabi also launched Royal Jet this May as a charter airline that serves customers ranging from royal families to government officials and businessmen. Royal Jet, launched with a capital of $85 million, is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Aviation Co, which operates helicopters in the UAE capital, and Royal Emiri Flights, which serves Abu Dhabi’s Al-Nahayan ruling family that controls huge oil deposits.
The emirate of Sharjah launched its own airline this week billing Air Arabia as the first low-cost carrier in the Middle East.
Since 1985, Dubai has operated Emirates airlines, which aims to become the leading Middle East carrier.
Abu Dhabi, in concert with the Gulf states of Bahrain and Oman, also finances Gulf Air, set up in 1950 and mired in financial difficulties for the past few years which experts link to the launch of Oman Air and Qatar Airways.