Low-cost carrier Air Arabia places order for 120 A320neo aircraft
Air Arabia is expanding its narrow-body fleet even further. The United Arab Emirates-based low-cost carrier announced Monday at the Dubai Airshow it has signed a firm order for 120 Airbus aircraft, featuring 73 A320neos, 27 A321neos and 20 A321XLRs.
The carrier is already an Airbus-only airline, with a fleet consisting of 54 A320neo family aircraft, including the A321LR. With the addition of the aircraft as part of Monday's order — especially the A321XLR — the airline has the opportunity to further expand its network.
"Air Arabia's fleet growth strategy has always been driven by commercial demand and we are glad to announce today one of the region's largest single-aisle orders with Airbus to support our growth plans," Adel Al Ali, CEO of Air Arabia, said in a statement. "The addition of the A320neo, A321neo and A321XLR complements our existing fleet and allows us to expand our service to further and newer destinations while remaining loyal to our low-cost business model."
The longer-range XLR variant can fly up to 5,400 miles, about 15% longer than the A321LR predecessor, which Air Arabia already operates.
Currently, Air Arabia operates from three hubs: Sharjah (SHJ) in the United Arab Emirates; Casablanca (CMN) in Morocco and Alexandria (HBE) in Egypt.
With the addition of the A321XLR to its fleet, which the carrier expects to begin taking delivery of in 2023, Air Arabia will now have the option to fly from its hubs in Egypt and the UAE to the U.K., though it hasn't made any official announcement if that is in its plans.
With the addition of the A321XLR to its fleet, which the carrier expects to begin taking delivery of in 2023, Air Arabia will now have the option to fly from its other two hubs to the U.K. However, it hasn't made any official announcement if that is in its plans.
The order from Air Arabia was the second big order for Airbus aircraft at this year's Dubai Airshow. Earlier on Monday, UAE giant Emirates Airline placed a massive $16 billion order for 50 Airbus A350 aircraft.
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