Fly Jinnah: Pakistan's Lakson Group, Air Arabia to start a new low-cost airline

DUBAI: Pakistan's Lakson Group and Middle Eastern budget carrier Air Arabia said on Friday they would launch a low-cost airline serving domestic and international routes from Pakistan.

The new carrier, Fly Jinnah, will operate as a joint venture between the pair, they said in a statement, adopting the low-cost model operated by Air Arabia.

The statement said the new airline would help Pakistan's travel and tourism sector and contribute to the country's economic growth and job creation.

The Lakson Group is a major business conglomerate in Pakistan with interests across the insurance, food, media industries along with others. It was established in 1954, and owns/ operates over 15 companies in Pakistan.

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Air Arabia operates from Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, and has similar joint ventures in Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Morocco and Armenia. Its shares are listed on the Dubai Financial Market.

The airline has been pushing ahead to expand in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak last year as low-cost carriers bet on a post-pandemic surge in travel.

Fly Jinnah will initially be based in Karachi serving a range of domestic routes across Pakistan and then will expand its route network internationally, added the statement.

Work on securing the Air Operating Certificate (AOC) - which allows the airline to start operating - will commence shortly. "More details about the launch date, fleet, and destination network will be announced in due course," said the joint statement.

According to IATA, the air transport industry, including airlines and its supply chain along with the tourism spend are estimated to support $3.3 billion of GDP in Pakistan.

In total, 1 percent of the country’s GDP is supported by inputs to the air transport sector and foreign tourists arriving by air.

"This partnership reflects our commitment to support the development of Pakistan’s air transport sector while providing the citizens and visitors of the country with a new option of value for money air travel," said Iqbal Ali Lakhani, chairman of Lakson Group.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia, said Fly Jinnah will add value to the air transport sector of Pakistan. "We look forward to working hand in hand to develop the new airline, which will serve as a new value-for-money air travel option for the country."

Separately, the Air Arabia chairman also met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday.

Khan later took to Twitter to welcome Air Arabia, wishing it success in the joint venture with Pakistan.

"I welcome @airarabiagroup to Pakistan & wish them success in their partnership with local investors to establish a new Pakistani airline, FLY JINNAH," he tweeted. "My govt is committed to attracting investment in Pakistan's burgeoning travel & tourism sector which offers immense opportunities."