Airblue, Pakistan’s fastest growing airline, has announced plans to reconfigure its cabins by providing an additional 23 percent economy seats on each flight to meet growing demand for air travel. Starting May 1st, 2008 Airblue will expand its economy cabin to the full aircraft. The airline recently made news for expanding its fleet with the purchase of 14 brand new Airbus A320s and shows no signs of slowing.
The plans of Airblue reflect anticipated increased demand for affordable, comfortable travel, with more in-flight amenities and more destination options. “Airblue has always been committed to setting a higher standard for air travel, and that now includes world class economy class,” says Mr. Nasir Ali, Managing Director of Airblue. “Today’s passenger is savvy and expects a higher standard of economy travel. We are meeting that challenge and aiming to set the standard even higher,” he added. The new aircraft will continue to redefine expectations by offering video-on-demand and other amenities typically associated with more expensive, business class service.
Airblue passengers already enjoy one of the most comfortable economy cabins in the industry, with extra legroom seating, in-flight entertainment, and complimentary meal, snack and beverage service. The shift to all-economy seating allows the airline to open up inventory while continuing to offer some of the most competitive fares in the industry. The current fleet of airblue will be reconfigured to accommodate this higher standard economy class cabin. Over the past three years, airblue has grown to be the largest private airline in Pakistan, introducing innovations for greater customer convenience such as e-ticketing, wireless mobile check-in and self check-in kiosks.
Airblue currently has the youngest fleet in Pakistan and with its 2 A320 and 3 A321 aircrafts operates flights to six major domestic cities in Pakistan; 3 daily flights to Dubai from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar, as well as a daily flight between Manchester and Islamabad. Future expansion plans of Airblue include flights to the UK, Scandinavia, the Gulf region, the Middle East, India, and Bangladesh.
