JEDDAH, 30 June 2004 — Emirates airline said yesterday the expansion plans of the eight-month-old Sharjah-based budget airline Air Arabia would have no direct impact on its operations.
“There is as yet no direct impact of Air Arabia, but it may have an indirect effect on other airlines from the region,” Mohamed S. Alfalasi, regional manager of Emirates, told a press conference.
“We don’t expect Air Arabia to affect us as we’re a global airline,” he said. However, the Sharjah airline could take up to 30 percent of regional passenger traffic because of its low fares.
Emirates, established in 1985, is to triple its fleet by 2010, he added.
The airline nonetheless offers special fares to selected destinations such as New York, Johannesburg, Osaka and Bangkok, and cities in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
