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Airblue

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Not to be confused with Blue Air.
Airblue
IATA ICAO Callsign
ED ABQ AIRBLUE
Founded2003
Commenced operations18th June 2004
HubsJinnah International Airport
Focus citiesAllama Iqbal International Airport
Benazir Bhutto International Airport
Dubai International Airport
Frequent-flyer programBlue Miles
Fleet size5
Destinations14
Parent companyGovernment of Pakistan
HeadquartersIslamabad Stock Exchange Towers
Islamabad, Pakistan
Key peopleShahid Khaqan Abbasi
Websitewww.airblue.com
Islamabad Stock Exchange Towers, the Airblue headquarters in Islamabad

Airblue Limited (styled as airblue) is a private airline with its head office on the 12th floor of the Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) Towers in Islamabad, Pakistan.[2] It is Pakistan's second largest airline with over 20% share of the domestic market.[3] Airblue operates scheduled flights operating 30 daily services linking four domestic destinations and international services to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Muscat and Manchester. It carried 1.4 million passengers on domestic flights in the 2006–07 fiscal year.[3] Its main base is Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.

History

The airline was established in 2003 and started operations on 18 June 2004 with 3 leased Airbus A320-200 aircraft serving Karachi–Lahore and Karachi–Islamabad with three daily flights in each direction.[4] The airline was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan.[citation needed]

During the first year the airline became very popular,[5] which allowed the airline to compete directly with the flag carrier PIA and the two other private carriers, flying more than 400,000 passengers in the first year with a load factor of over 90%.[6] This allowed the airline to expand into more cities in Pakistan including Peshawar, Quetta and Nawabshah.[4] On 14 August 2005 (Pakistan's 58th Independence Day) Airblue launched its first international flight from Karachi to Dubai.[4] On June 4, 2007, Airblue launched its inaugural flight to Manchester using the Airbus A321.[7]

Previously the airline's head office was on the ground floor of the Saudi Pak Building in Islamabad.

Destinations

Airblue serves the following destinations (at December 2011).

Airblue also previously served Faisalabad, Gwadar, Nawabshah and Quetta in Pakistan.[9][10][11].

Services

Cabin

Airblue currently operates a mixture of Airbus A320 and A319s. All aircraft are in a 3 by 3 all economy layout.[12] There are several overhead screens located after several rows. The airline dropped its Business class section due to exogenous economic factors. The layout was 2 by 2 with inflight televisions and leather seating and the cockpit of the airblue planes are all digital.[13]

eTicketing

Karachi is the hub for most of Airblue's domestic operations

Airblue was the first airline in Pakistan to introduce e-ticketing, wireless check-in and self check-in kiosk facilities. The airline also became a member of Sabre system that is used by over a hundred airlines to help it with ticket automation service.

OnAir deal

OnAir has announced an agreement with Airblue to launch Mobile OnAir voice and data services on up to 12 of its Airbus A320 aircraft beginning in 2009.[14]

Frequent flyer program

The Airblue frequent flyer program is called Blue Miles. Passengers are able to initially start on the base level where sign up is free. Once passengers earn enough miles, there are upgrades to the Blue Card followed by the Platinum Card. In May 2009, the airline formed an alliance with The Royal Bank of Scotland Limited (RBS) to launch its summer promotion on its credit cards.[15]

Lounges

Airblue inaugurated its own premium lounge at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi in November 2008. Nicknamed, the Blue Lounge International, it was designed for business class passengers, credit card holders and privileged customers. The lounge offers a number of Internet facilities, cable television, newspapers and magazines, massage chairs as well as a snack bar. It is located in the international terminal of the airport.

Joint venture with JS Air

To comply with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations the airline started operating on socio-economic routes by flying to Nawabshah in central Sindh.

To overcome the issue of non-compliance Airblue entered into a joint venture with start-up charter airline JS Air to operate flights on its behalf on socio-economic routes. This represented the first time in Pakistani aviation history that 2 air operators entered into a joint venture arrangement. The first destination under this agreement was the port city of Gwadar which was connected to the Airblue network on 17 June and was served twice daily, except Fridays, from Karachi. The flights were operated using JS Air's 19 seater Beech 1900C aircraft which are specifically suited to serving low yield 'commuter' destinations.

Service to Gwadar ended two years later, JS Air was also shut down in 2010.

Cost cutting measures

To deal with the fuel price hike worldwide, Airblue converted their fleet to all economy class. This will also be applied to their new aircraft. They also ended full meal services and replaced it with snacks on domestic flights. In 2006 Airblue did away with chinaware crockery service for meals on domestic and possibly Gulf routes to cut costs and weight, replacing it with plasticware as per normal industry practice.

File:A321.jpg
Dnata handles the majority of Airblue's ground services within Pakistan as well at most of its oversea operations

Ground services

Passengers may check-in between two to 48 hours prior to flight departure. This may be done over the counter or at the self-service kiosks. Currently self service kiosks are available at Jinnah International Airport and Allama Iqbal International Airport. Dnata the aviation services company handles the ground and passenger handling for the airline at all of the airports the airline operates from. Gate Gourmet provides food and beverage services to the airline.

Cargo operations

Airblue have launched e-Cargo service to cater to air freight markets of Pakistan, UAE and UK.[16] According to a press release, e-Cargo will broaden the base of cargo and permit certified agents to book freight directly online opening the inventory through the web.

Fleet

As Of January 2012 Airblue Fleet Consists Of Following Aircraft As Average Age Of 3.6 Years:

Previously operated

Orders and deliveries

In November 2007, Airblue signed an agreement to purchase eight more A320 aircraft bringing the airline's total order up to 14. The deal is worth $520 million at catalogue prices. The aircraft will be configured to seat 157 passengers in 2 classes. "We're looking at expanding our destinations to Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Bangkok, Malaysia and Singapore over the next three years," Shahid Abbasi, Air Blue's chief operating officer, said at the signing ceremony at the Dubai airshow.[17]

Achievements and recognitions

  • First airline in Pakistan and only the third carrier in the region behind Emirates and Royal Jordanian to introduce the state-of-the-art self-service check-in facilities at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.
  • First private airline in Pakistan to initiate long-haul services on (Islamabad-Manchester) sector in 2007.
  • First private airline within Pakistan to place an order for new aircraft.
  • First airline in Pakistan to start e-ticketing online.
  • First airline in Pakistan to start self check in kiosks in Karachi.
  • Airblue makes a fuel stop at Trabzon in Turkey when flying to and from Manchester. This route is the longest route operated by an A319 aircraft in the world, and the longest scheduled route operated by an Airbus narrowbody aircraft (excluding the Airbus A319LR).[18]

Incidents and accidents

Airblue Flight 202 crashed on 28 July 2010 near Islamabad in Margalla Hills, killing all 146 passengers and six crew members on board.

See also

References

  1. ^ Airblue launches Blue Lounge International
  2. ^ "Contacting Us." Airblue. Retrieved on 28 July 2010. "Airblue Limited (Corporate Headquarters) 12th Floor, ISE Towers 55-B Jinnah Avenue Islamabad 111-247-258."
  3. ^ a b Airblue now has 20% share of domestic traffic in Pakistan – looks to Scandinavia for further western expansion.
  4. ^ a b c Schmitz 2006, p. 57.
  5. ^ "Pakistan’s popular private airline AirBlue to begin Flights to UK in May" Pakistan Times, Printed Jan 28, 2007
  6. ^ Schmitz 2006, p. 58.
  7. ^ AirBlue Begins Pakistan-UK Flights from June 1
  8. ^ Airblue launching Istanbul
  9. ^ Former domestic route map
  10. ^ Airblue/JS Air Gwadar service
  11. ^ Private Airline Launches Nawabshah Flights
  12. ^ Economy class section of Airblue A320s
  13. ^ The front section of Airblue's Business class cabin
  14. ^ OnAir wings Airblue deal
  15. ^ Promotional Campaign Launched
  16. ^ Airblue e-Cargo
  17. ^ Pakistan's Air Blue orders eight Airbus A320 aircraft
  18. ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 69.
  • Schmitz, Sebastian. "airblue: A New High Flyer from Pakistan". Air International, January 2006, Vol 70 No 1. pp. 56–58. ISSN 0306-5634.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Airblue.
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