OP3000 From United States of America, joined Jun 2009, 1678 posts, RR: 2 Posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 3616 times:
In the context of reporting quarterly results, Air Arabia CEO announced the airline will open a new hub, somewhere geographically between Casablanca and Sharjah.
Plenty of options there. Obvious choices would be CAI, BEY and AMM, and there are others with less O/D that would offer other advantages.
DUBAI: UAE's Air Arabia, the Middle East's largest low-cost carrier, will announce a third hub in weeks and expects full-year profit to be positive despite excess capacity hitting yields in the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the airline launched a joint venture in Morocco, flying from its Casablanca hub and has said it planned to set up a new hub between its base at Sharjah, United Arab Emirates and North Africa.
We are fairly close... it should be a matter of weeks," Ali said.
OP3000 From United States of America, joined Jun 2009, 1678 posts, RR: 2 Reply 1, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 3534 times:
Correction on my OP: I meant HBE (Borg el Arab - Alexandria), not CAI which as an LCC they don't even serve. Expansion there is set to finish late this year, and ALY (old Alexandria airport) will be closed once that happens.
The airport will have estimated capacity of 2.5 million passengers a year, although only 4 gates. Then again Air Arabia already remote stands in other places.
Kleinsim From Qatar, joined Jan 2007, 154 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 3516 times:
Out of curiosity, how does their ownership structure account for the fact that many bilaterals restrict international operations to carriers owned by individuals at either end of an international route? I know much about the Gulf is Open Skies so there are no real issues there - especially since I believe Air Arabia has been designated as a carrier by the UAE government in their bilaterals (hence their substantial international flying). How does the CMN - EU flying work - does the joint venture with Maroccon investors grant them Maroccan ownership status?
If we can figure that one out then we can probably restrict the number of airports Air Arabia could start a new hub at
BA From United States of America, joined May 2000, 11135 posts, RR: 61 Reply 3, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 3399 times:
Based on O&D, BEY and AMM would be the best choices I think.
BEY would be a smart choice, especially since Lebanon was among the first countries in the Middle East to adopt an Open Skies policy, back in 2000. It's right now experiencing a traffic boom. So far, traffic to/from BEY is up 30% compared to last year.
AMM is also a great choice, but Jordan is more restrictive when it comes to air traffic rights. They weren't very welcoming of the Arab low fare carriers when they first launched, I know Air Arabia had some difficulty getting authority to fly to AMM initially.
Jazeera Airways is also set to open a second Middle East hub.
"Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need." - Khalil Gibran
Aviationbuff From India, joined Mar 2008, 1424 posts, RR: 3 Reply 5, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 3269 times:
Quoting BA (Reply 3): Jazeera Airways is also set to open a second Middle East hub.
again ..... after the DXB fiasco...
off the topic...
A nice article by CAPA
Japan Airlines and Air Arabia at opposite ends of airline spectrum
Quote: What do Japan Airlines (JAL) and Sharjah-based Air Arabia have in common? Absolutely nothing it seems. Reviewing their latest financial results, it is hard to believe the companies occupy the same industry segment and carry out the same basic function, transporting passengers and goods by air. Air Arabia has the DNA of a gazelle, JAL the DNA of a dinosaur.
OP3000 From United States of America, joined Jun 2009, 1678 posts, RR: 2 Reply 6, posted (3 years 9 months 2 weeks 16 hours ago) and read 2961 times:
Quoting Rafvc10 (Reply 4): A low cost airline based at TUN would be a great idea!!! Spanish and other Mediterranean countries would be ideal destinations!
True, it would be good for Middle East/Algeria connections in and out of Europe.
But it would not serve as a good connection point between the most populated Arabic countries (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq), which is what they are lacking with Sharjah and Casablanca, which are on the geographic ends of the region.
Quoting BA (Reply 3): BEY would be a smart choice, especially since Lebanon was among the first countries in the Middle East to adopt an Open Skies policy, back in 2000. It's right now experiencing a traffic boom. So far, traffic to/from BEY is up 30% compared to last year.
Other than the perceived potential for political instability (due to the location of the airport), I would agree with you.
OP3000 From United States of America, joined Jun 2009, 1678 posts, RR: 2 Reply 7, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 2742 times:
Quoting Kleinsim (Reply 2): How does the CMN - EU flying work - does the joint venture with Maroccon investors grant them Maroccan ownership status?
Yes, I believe that's the case as Morocco has a foreign ownership limit of 49%. Generally the country on the other end of the bilateral (in this case the EU) has authority to veto a carrier deemed not to be local enough, but typically this would only happen if an EU carrier would lobby heavily against approval.
When they set up the failed subsidiary in Nepal back in 2006/2007, Air Arabia's local partners had a nominal 80% ownership.
Brightcedars From Belgium, joined Nov 2004, 1271 posts, RR: 2 Reply 8, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 7 hours ago) and read 2655 times:
As far as BEY is concerned, I think that Lebanon's restriction on online booking which plagued MenaJet's business model has or is about to expire. This will remove some protectionist barrier that will likely induce some homegrown competition. The potential is there.
Directorguy From Egypt, joined Jul 2008, 1569 posts, RR: 12 Reply 9, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 6 days 4 hours ago) and read 2563 times:
Quoting OP3000 (Reply 1): Correction on my OP: I meant HBE (Borg el Arab - Alexandria), not CAI which as an LCC they don't even serve. Expansion there is set to finish late this year, and ALY (old Alexandria airport) will be closed once that happens.
The airport will have estimated capacity of 2.5 million passengers a year, although only 4 gates. Then again Air Arabia already remote stands in other places.
Correct. HBE has been revamped and many airlines have transferred, or are in the process of transferring from downtown ALY (Nozha) to HBE (Borg el Arab). But I should point out that there is little-very little traffic to be found in Alexandria and North Egypt itself. Much as I would like to see G9 open a hub in Egypt, I don't know if it would work.
Quoting Aviationbuff (Reply 5): Quoting BA (Reply 3):
Jazeera Airways is also set to open a second Middle East hub.
again ..... after the DXB fiasco...
Hmm...what happened to J9's DXB hub? I know they had a pretty neat operation, but all of a sudden they closed it.
All in all-I knew that A320s were not capable of operating SHJ-CMN nonstop. I always assumed they'd use A330s to link those two hubs. I do not know how they plan to make a 2-stop network between Sharjah and Europe proftable.
BA From United States of America, joined May 2000, 11135 posts, RR: 61 Reply 10, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 22 hours ago) and read 2476 times:
Quote: Air Arabia may Choose Beirut as Third Hub
Abdul Basit
12 August 2009
DUBAI — Sharjah-based Air Arabia, the Middle East’s largest low-cost carrier, is likely to choose Beirut as its third hub, an industry specialist said.
Air Arabia recently announced that it is working to set up a new hub mid-way between Casablanca and Sharjah, but refused to comment on its exact location, which should be disclosed very soon.
Air Arabia’s Chief Executive Officer Adil Ali recently said in an interview that they were “fairly close” and that “it should be a matter of weeks.”
“We compared Egypt and Lebanon and technically Beirut could be the best choice for Air Arabia for their third hub,” Karim Hijazi, Managing Director of Air Synapsis, told Khaleej Times.
This is going to push the need to begin making plans to expand BEY's terminal which was completed in 2002 and is going to be nearing capacity this year.
Quoting Brightcedars (Reply 8): As far as BEY is concerned, I think that Lebanon's restriction on online booking which plagued MenaJet's business model has or is about to expire. This will remove some protectionist barrier that will likely induce some homegrown competition. The potential is there.
The protectionist barrier only applies to Lebanese carriers which Air Arabia is not.
MEA's monopoly protects it from from local competition, but not foreign competition.
Quoting Directorguy (Reply 9): Hmm...what happened to J9's DXB hub? I know they had a pretty neat operation, but all of a sudden they closed it.
1) Thanks for the link
2) I would personally vouch for BEY because it's an ideal interchange point, and some traffic is bound to 'bleed' over from AMM and DAM since driving between the three Levant countries is very easy, from what I understand. The only obstacle would probably be protectionist policies in Lebanon. I'm willing to bet that MEA will object, if not fight tooth-and-nail to keep foreign competitors out. I'd be very surprised if they let G9 set up shop without a fight. But perhaps there's something I don't know about Lebanese aeropolitics.
OP3000 From United States of America, joined Jun 2009, 1678 posts, RR: 2 Reply 12, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 19 hours ago) and read 2377 times:
Quoting Directorguy (Reply 11): The only obstacle would probably be protectionist policies in Lebanon. I'm willing to bet that MEA will object, if not fight tooth-and-nail to keep foreign competitors out.
True. Although with both J9 and Air Arabia possibly fighting with them at the same time over getting access to BEY it may be too much pressure on two fronts. Its probably good news for AMM, since one of the discounts will probably set up a hub there as an alternative.
MEA330 From Lebanon, joined Aug 2002, 268 posts, RR: 8 Reply 13, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 2347 times:
Both Air Arabia and Jazeera should not be allowed to set up hubs in BEY.
In 2012 other Lebanese carriers will be able to compete with MEA. The new local airlines should be given at least 5 years to developp before competition is opened for foreign carriers to be based in BEY.
This is not being protectionist, it's what every country does in the world including the USA and Europe.
The UAE does have an open sky policy but they closed Jazeera's DXB hub once FlyDubai started operations.
BA From United States of America, joined May 2000, 11135 posts, RR: 61 Reply 14, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 2330 times:
Quoting Directorguy (Reply 11): I would personally vouch for BEY because it's an ideal interchange point, and some traffic is bound to 'bleed' over from AMM and DAM since driving between the three Levant countries is very easy, from what I understand.
I've crossed the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria on the Beirut - Damascus highway once and the facilities need improvement. Travel time is about three hours. I've heard the main border crossing between Syria and Jordan is a bit more organized and the road is much better. To drive from Amman to Beirut takes about six hours.
So it's not really an attractive option.
Quoting Directorguy (Reply 11): The only obstacle would probably be protectionist policies in Lebanon. I'm willing to bet that MEA will object, if not fight tooth-and-nail to keep foreign competitors out. I'd be very surprised if they let G9 set up shop without a fight. But perhaps there's something I don't know about Lebanese aeropolitics.
MEA will likely speak out, but I'm not sure if they will succeed. They currently enjoy exclusivity until 2012, but this only applies to competition from local Lebanese carriers. There are no restrictions on foreign carriers and many operate a number of 5th freedom routes through BEY. Lebanon adopted an Open Skies policy in 2000.
MEA's exclusivity has been unpopular by many circles in Lebanon. MenaJet, a Lebanese start-up, tried unsuccessfully to get MEA's exclusivity overturned. They had to stick to operating charter flights.
Quoting MEA330 (Reply 13): In 2012 other Lebanese carriers will be able to compete with MEA.
We'll have to wait and see. Lebanon's Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ghazi Aridi, wants to extend MEA's monopoly beyond 2012. This is likely to become a contentious debate in Lebanon as we get closer to 2012.
"Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need." - Khalil Gibran
Brightcedars From Belgium, joined Nov 2004, 1271 posts, RR: 2 Reply 15, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 5 days 8 hours ago) and read 2225 times:
I don't think Air Arabia's plans are to link CMN and SHJ like some of suggested, SHJ and Europe for that matter. They are just after good networks at nicely spaced and traffic generating hubs which CMN, SHJ and maybe BEY definitely are. Sure they might end up running a CMN-BEY-SHJ route or connection but I don't see that as their objective.
With Air Arabia probably starting a CMN-CRL, here's hoping that they choose BEY and think of a BEY-CRL route as well.
BA From United States of America, joined May 2000, 11135 posts, RR: 61 Reply 16, posted (3 years 9 months 1 week 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 2051 times:
Air Arabia launched a joint venture with Moroccan investors called Air Arabia Maroc for its CMN hub.
I am not sure what they have in mind for their third hub operation. It largely depends on the local laws of the country they plan to set up the hub in.
"Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need." - Khalil Gibran
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