Airblue is a private airline based in Karachi, Pakistan. It is a scheduled domestic and international airline operating 30 daily services linking seven domestic destinations and international services to Dubai and Manchester. Its main base is Jinnah International Airport, 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).^[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... IATA airline designators, sometimes called IATA reservation codes, are two-character codes assigned by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to the worlds airlines in accordance with the provisions of Resolution 762. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with ICAO airline code. ... Most airlines employ a distinctive and internationally recognised call sign that is normally spoken during airband radio transmissions as a prefix to the flight number. ... An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. ... KHI redirects here. ... In the airline industry, a focus city is a location that is not a hub, but from which the airline has flights to at least several destinations other than its hubs. ... Allama Iqbal International Airport (IATA: LHE, ICAO: OPLA) is Pakistans second largest civil airport after Jinnah International Airport. ... Islamabad International Airport or Chaklala Airbase (Urdu: چکلالہ) (IATA: ISB, ICAO: OPRN) is the third largest civil airport located in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. ... Membership cards of FFP This article is about airline frequent flyer programs. ... Blue Mile is the Frequent Flyer Program of the Airblue. ...   (Sindhi: , Urdu: ) is the largest city in Pakistan and is the provincial capital of Sindh province. ... Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (خاقان عباسی) is the Chairman of Airblue. ... The private sector of a nations economy consists of all that is outside the state. ... An Airbus A380 of Emirates Airline An airline provides air transport services for passengers or freight. ...   (Sindhi: , Urdu: ) is the largest city in Pakistan and is the provincial capital of Sindh province. ... Location of Dubai in the UAE Coordinates: , Country Emirate Dubai Incorporated (town) June 9, 1833 Incorporated (emirate) December 2, 1971 Founder Maktoum bin Bati bin Suhail (1833) Seat Dubai Subdivisions Towns and villages Jebel Ali Hatta Al Hunaiwah Al Aweer Al Hajarain Al Lusayli Al Marqab Al Shindagha Al Faq... This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ... KHI redirects here. ...   (Sindhi: , Urdu: ) is the largest city in Pakistan and is the provincial capital of Sindh province. ... Trabzon, formerly known as Trebizond (Greek: ), is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. ... This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ... The Airbus A320 is a short to medium range commercial passenger aircraft manufactured by Airbus. ...

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, Shaukat Aziz. Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Airbus A320 is a short to medium range commercial passenger aircraft manufactured by Airbus. ...   (Sindhi: , Urdu: ) is the largest city in Pakistan and is the provincial capital of Sindh province. ...   (Urdu: لاہور, Punjabi: لہور, pronounced ) is the capital of the Punjab and is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. ...   (Sindhi: , Urdu: ) is the largest city in Pakistan and is the provincial capital of Sindh province. ... Location within Pakistan Coordinates: , Country Pakistan Province Constructed 1960s Union Council 40 UC (District Govt. ... Shaukat Aziz at the White House with US president George W. Bush. ...

During the first year the airline became very popular, 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 August 14, 2005 (Pakistan's 58th Independence Day) Airblue launched its first international flight from Karachi to Dubai and recently added Faisalabad to its network. Pakistan International Airlines Corporation, more commonly known as Pakistan International Airlines or PIA (Urdu: Ù¾ÛŒ آئی اے يا پاکستان انٹرنیشنل ایرلاینز), is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan, based in Karachi. ...   (Urdu: پشاور; Pashto: پښور) literally means City on the Frontier in Persian and is known as Pekhawar in Pashto. ...   (Urdu: کوئٹہ) also spelled Kwatah city is a variation of kwatkot, a Pashto word meaning “fort,”. It is the largest city and provincial capital and district of Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. ... Nawabshah Mudjamrao Road Nawabshah (Urdu: نوابشاہ) city (established in 1912) is located in the centre of Sindh,Along With Left Bank Of River Indus Near Sakrand Tehsel, Pakistan, and is therefore often known as the Heart of Sindh. ... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location of Dubai in the UAE Coordinates: , Country Emirate Dubai Incorporated (town) June 9, 1833 Incorporated (emirate) December 2, 1971 Founder Maktoum bin Bati bin Suhail (1833) Seat Dubai Subdivisions Towns and villages Jebel Ali Hatta Al Hunaiwah Al Aweer Al Hajarain Al Lusayli Al Marqab Al Shindagha Al Faq...   (Urdu: فیصل آباد) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. ...

Further expansion plans are already in the pipeline with flights to Manchester having commenced on June 1, 2007 whilst an application to start flights to Jordanian capital Amman has been submitted. Other destinations that feature in their long term plans include further cities in the United Kingdom, as well as to India after government approval. This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... For other meanings, see Amman (disambiguation) and Ammann. ...

Services

Airblue was the first airline in Pakistan to introduce e-ticketing, wireless check-in and self check-in kiosk facilities.^[1] The airline also became a member of Sabre system that is used by over a hundred airlines to help it with ticket automation services. “E-ticket” redirects here. ... Sabre Logo Sabre is a computer reservations system/global distribution system (GDS) used by airlines, railways, hotels, travel agents and other travel companies. ...

Self service check-in

Leading the way with innovative new technology Airblue became the first airline in South Asia and only the second carrier in the region behind Emirates Airline to introduce the latest self service check-in facilities at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi. The system allows passengers with baggage to obtain a boarding card through the touch screen menu without needing to report to the counter. Airblue plans to extend the self service check-in facilities to Lahore and Islamabad, and eventually to all cities on its network. 1 Map of South Asia (see note on Kashmir). ... Emirates Airline (shortened form: Emirates) (Arabic: طيران الإماراتTayarān al-Imārāt) is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group. ... KHI redirects here. ...   (Sindhi: , Urdu: ) is the largest city in Pakistan and is the provincial capital of Sindh province. ...   (Urdu: لاہور, Punjabi: لہور, pronounced ) is the capital of the Punjab and is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. ... Location within Pakistan Coordinates: , Country Pakistan Province Constructed 1960s Union Council 40 UC (District Govt. ...

One millionth passenger celebration

On March 22, 2006, Airblue celebrated the completion of handling of one million passengers on Tuesday at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi. The passenger was Californian resident Samara Azam. The airline gave her one month's free travel on all sectors operated by Airblue, 12 complimentary tickets for her friends and relatives, a two night stay in any hotel of Avari hotel’s chain and a two night stay in Pearl Continental Karachi. is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Airblue handles around 100,000 passengers a month, and this figure will increase when the airline starts operating new routes to the United Kingdom and other regional routes.^{[citation needed]}

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 17th 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 depsite using suitable aircraft. Nawabshah Mudjamrao Road Nawabshah (Urdu: نوابشاہ) city (established in 1912) is located in the centre of Sindh,Along With Left Bank Of River Indus Near Sakrand Tehsel, Pakistan, and is therefore often known as the Heart of Sindh. ... Sindh (Sindhī: سنڌ, Urdū: سندھ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhis. ... The Airbus A320 is a short to medium range commercial passenger aircraft manufactured by Airbus. ... Jahangir Siddiqui Air (JS Air) is a recently-launched charter aircraft company by the Jahangir Siddiqui Group that operates in diversified fields. ... Gwadar is located on the southwestern coast of Pakistan, close to the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. ... A Sunwest Airlines Beech 1900 at Vancouver International Airport. ...

Cargo

Airblue have launched e-Cargo service to cater to air freight markets of Pakistan, UAE and UK. 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 and allowing more competitive prices, making the transportation of goods more affordable. UAE redirects here; for other uses of that term, see UAE (disambiguation) The United Arab Emirates is an oil-rich country situated in the south-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia, comprising seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent...

Cost cutting measures

To deal with fuel hike worldwide, Air Blue are 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 considering ending meal services, in 2006 Air Blue did away with Chinaware crokery servcie for meals in Economy class and now use Plastic to cut costs and weight.

Destinations

Main article: Air Blue Destinations

Expansion

AirBlue plans for a large-scale expansion from 2009 onwards. Destinations expected to be approved for service include Bangkok, Delhi, Dhaka, Kuala Lumpur, London-Gatwick, Mumbai and Singapore. The summer 2008 schedule is expected to see an increase in services to Dubai, as well as new flights to domestic centres, such as Sialkot and Multan. Following the re-negotiated aviation agreement with India, service to Delhi and Mumbai may be brought forward to the winter 2008 schedule. Location within Thailand Coordinates: , Country Settled Ayutthaya Period Founded as capital 21 April 1782 Government  - Type Special administrative area  - Governor Apirak Kosayothin Area  - City 1,568. ... , For other uses, see Delhi (disambiguation). ... Dhaka (previously Dacca; Bengali: Ḍhākā; IPA: ) is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka District. ... Nickname: Motto: Maju dan makmur (English: Progress and Prosper) Location in Malaysia Coordinates: , Country State Establishment 1857 Granted city status 1974 Government  - Mayor (Datuk Bandar) Datuk Abdul Hakim Borhan From 14 December 2006 Area  - Total 243. ... Gatwick Airport (IATA Airport Code: LGW, ICAO Airport Code: EGKK) is Londons second airport and the second largest airport in the UK after Heathrow. ... , Bombay redirects here. ... Location of Dubai in the UAE Coordinates: , Country Emirate Dubai Incorporated (town) June 9, 1833 Incorporated (emirate) December 2, 1971 Founder Maktoum bin Bati bin Suhail (1833) Seat Dubai Subdivisions Towns and villages Jebel Ali Hatta Al Hunaiwah Al Aweer Al Hajarain Al Lusayli Al Marqab Al Shindagha Al Faq... Sialkot (Urdu/Punjabi: ), the capital of Sialkot District, is a city situated in the north-east of the Punjab province in Pakistan at the feet of the snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. ... Multan shown on a 1669 world map   (Urdu: ملتان) is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. ...

Catering & Ground handling

Air Blue is the only Pakistani carrier whose meals are provided by world renowned airline caterers Gate Gourmet, the Zurich based company run their own facility at Karachi Airport. A Gate Gourmet catering truck servicing an Air Berlin aircraft at Hamburg Airport Gate Gourmet is an airline catering firm with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland and Reston, Virginia, USA. As of 2004 it had 22,000 employees, a revenue of 2. ...

Air Blue is handled by Gerry's Dnata in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, it's the local franchise partner of Dnata which is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, owners of Emirates Airlines. Air Blue is also handled by SGS (SAS Ground Services) in Manchester. Swissport handle them at Peshawar. Website: [www. ... The Emirates Group is a holding company headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ... Swissport International Ltd. ...

Fleet

Airblue fleet includes the following aircraft as of 2008.

• • Speculation continues on whether Airblue will place orders or lease wide body aircraft for its long haul operations.

An Airblue A320-200 taking off from Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore

The Airbus A320 family of short-to-medium range commercial passenger aircraft are manufactured by Airbus S.A.S.. Family members include the A318, A319, A320, and A321, as well as the ACJ business jet. ... The Airbus A320 is a short to medium range commercial passenger aircraft manufactured by Airbus. ... Image File history File links Airblue_P1050431. ... Image File history File links Airblue_P1050431. ... The Airbus A320 is a short to medium range commercial passenger aircraft manufactured by Airbus. ... Allama Iqbal International Airport (IATA: LHE, ICAO: OPLA) is Pakistans second largest civil airport after Jinnah International Airport. ...   (Urdu: لاہور, Punjabi: لہور, pronounced ) is the capital of the Punjab and is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. ...

Achievements and recognitions

• First airline in Pakistan and only the third carrier in the region behind Emirates Airline and Royal Jordanian to introduce the latest self service check-in facilities at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi
• First private airline in Pakistan to initiate long-haul services with (Islamabad-Manchester)
• First private airline within Pakistan to place an order for new aircraft.

Emirates Airline (shortened form: Emirates) (Arabic: طيران الإماراتTayarān al-Imārāt) is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group. ... Royal Jordanian Airlines (Arabic: الملكية الأردنية; transliterated: al-Malakiyah al-Orduniyah) is an airline based in Amman, Jordan, operating scheduled international services over four continents. ... KHI redirects here. ...   (Sindhi: , Urdu: ) is the largest city in Pakistan and is the provincial capital of Sindh province. ... Location within Pakistan Coordinates: , Country Pakistan Province Constructed 1960s Union Council 40 UC (District Govt. ... This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ...

References

Flight International (or Flight) is a leading global aerospace weekly. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Additional references

• 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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Airblue

• Airblue website
• AirBlue Authorized Travel Partner
• Airblue Fleet Detail
• Airblue: A new high flyer from Pakistan Air International Magazine, January 2006
• Airblue inks deal for ten Airbus aircraft Flight International

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