Airblue

Airblue

IATA ED ICAO ABQ Callsign AIRBLUE
Founded	2003
Hubs	Jinnah International Airport
Focus cities	Allama Iqbal International Airport Benazir Bhutto International Airport Dubai International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Blue Miles
Member lounge	Blue Lounge International 1
Fleet size	4
Destinations	12
Headquarters	Islamabad Stock Exchange Towers Islamabad, Pakistan
Key people	Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Website	www.airblue.com

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 30% 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.

Contents 1 History 2 Destinations 2.1 New destinations 3 Services 3.1 Cabin 3.2 eTicketing 3.3 OnAir deal 3.4 Frequent flyer program 3.5 Lounges 3.6 Joint venture with JS Air 3.7 Cost cutting measures 3.8 Ground services 4 Cargo operations 5 Fleet 5.1 Orders and deliveries 6 Achievements and recognitions 7 Incidents and accidents 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

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. The airline was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan.^{citation needed}

During the first year the airline became very popular⁴, which allowed the airline to compete directly with the flag carrier PIA and the two other private carriers. This allowed the airline to expand into more cities in Pakistan including Peshawar, Quetta and Nawabshah. On 14 August 2005 (Pakistan's 58th Independence Day) Airblue launched its first international flight from Karachi to Dubai. On June 4, 2007, Airblue launched its inaugural flight to Manchester using the Airbus A321.⁵

Previously the airline's head office was on the ground floor of the Saudi Pak Building in Islamabad.⁶

Destinations

New destinations

Expansion plans include Bahrain, Bangkok, Birmingham, Colombo, Copenhagen, Delhi, Dhaka, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, London-Gatwick, Mumbai, Oslo and Singapore. At home they plan to launch Multan, Faisalabad and Sialkot.⁷

Services

Cabin

Airblue currently operates a mixture of Airbus A321, A320 and A319s. All aircraft are in a 3 by 3 all economy layout.⁸ 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.⁹

eTicketing

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, Pakistan’s fastest growing airline, to launch Mobile OnAir voice and data services on up to 12 of its Airbus A320 aircraft beginning in 2009.¹⁰

Frequent flyer program

Airblue frequent flyer program is called Blue Miles. Passengers are able to initially start on the base level where sign up is free. Once passenger earn enough miles, the 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.¹¹

Lounges

Airblue inaugrated 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 wing 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 however the service was soon suspended because of low passenger load factors and the unsuitability of the A320 aircraft for this route. The suspension meant that Airblue was not compliant with CAA regulations and therefore had to incur penalty fees.

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. This service was also suspended in 2007 due to insufficient demand despite using suitable aircraft.

Cost cutting measures

To deal with the fuel price hike worldwide, Airblue is converting their fleet to all economy class. This will also be applied to their new aircraft, which will be delivered starting in 2009. They are also ending full meal services and replacing it with sandwiches and pastries. In 2006 Airblue did away with chinaware crockery service for meals in economy class to cut costs and weight, replacing it with plasticware as per normal industry practice.

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.¹² 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

The Airblue fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 29 July 2010):¹³

Airblue Fleet

Aircraft	In Fleet	Orders	Passengers (Economy)	Notes
Airbus A319-112	2	0	144
Airbus A321-231	2	0	185
Total	4	0		Last updated: 29 July 2010

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 156 passenger in two classes configuration.¹⁴ The delivery of the first aircraft was expected in 2009 from Airbus, but thereafter the whole deal has been shrouded in mystery and secrecy with rumors of the whole deal having been cancelled. This is supported by the fact that of the 14 aircraft ordered, to date, only 1 has received airblue markings, that too over a year ago, and has since been parked at Tolouse, in France citing conflicts with insurance providers. The remaining 13 aircraft are said to have been shifted to Qatar Airways' order book.

Achievements and recognitions

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008)

• 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.
• First private airline within Pakistan to place an order for new aircraft.
• First airline in Pakistan to start e-ticketing.
• First airline in Pakistan to start self check in kiosks (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 Airbus A321 aircraft in the world, and the longest scheduled route operated by an Airbus narrowbody aircraft (excluding the Airbus A319LR).¹⁵

Incidents and accidents

Wikinews has related news: Plane crash in Pakistani capital kills 152

• On 28 July, 2010, Airblue Flight 202, an Airbus A321-231, crashed in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, killing all 146 passengers and 6 crew members.¹⁶¹⁷ The airliner was flying from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, to Benazir Bhutto International Airport.¹⁸ Initial reports suggested that the flight crew lost contact with air traffic controllers whilst attempting to land in dense fog and heavy monsoon rain, however eyewitnsses claim there was only a light drizzle at the time and no fog.¹⁹²⁰ The crash is the deadliest air accident to occur in Pakistan to date.²¹

See also

• List of airlines of Pakistan

References

Further reading

• Airblue
• AirBlue to start flights to UK
• Airblue Introduce Self Check-in System
• Airblue celebrates one millionth passenger
• Airblue's Fleet Expansion
• ILFC News Release
• Airblue/Airbus Deal Press Release
• Airblue Landing in Sharja
• Lightning hits Airblue plane

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Airblue

• Airblue website
• Airblue fleet detail

v • d • e Lists relating to aviation General Timeline of aviation · Aircraft (manufacturers) · Aircraft engines (manufacturers) · Rotorcraft (manufacturers) · Airports · Airlines (defunct) · Civil authorities · Museums Military Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft Accidents/incidents General · Military · Commercial (airliners) · Deaths Records Airspeed · Distance · Altitude · Endurance · Most-produced aircraft

v • d • e List of airlines of Pakistan Current Airlines Airblue • Pakistan International Airlines • Shaheen Air Cargo Airlines Pakistan International Cargo • Royal Airlines Cargo • Star Air • TCS Couriers • AST Pakistan Airways Charter Companies Askari Aviation • ASSL • Jahangir Siddiqui Charter • JSA • Pakistan Aviators & Aviation • Princely Jets • Regency Air • Royal Airlines • Schon Air • Vision Air International Future Airlines Air Indus Deewan International Airlines • Sialkot Airways Defunct Airlines Aero Asia International • Bhoja Air • Cresent Air Transport • Hajvairy Airlines • Orient Airways • Pak-Air • Pearl Air • Raji Airlines • Safe Air • Super Airways Other Airports • Civil Aviation Authority • List of airlines • List of defunct airlines • Shaheen Airport Services • Dnata • Aviaction • Transport

FiveAfrica.Com