Airblue Limited (stylized as airblue) is a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
Pakistani
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
with its head office on the 12th floor of the
Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) Towers in
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
, Pakistan. Airblue operates scheduled domestic and international flights, the latter to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
.
History
The airline was established in 2003 by Tariq Chaudhry, a Pakistani-American IT professional. Airblue started operations on 18 June 2004 with three leased
Airbus A320-200
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
aircraft serving Karachi–Lahore, and Karachi–Islamabad with three daily flights in each direction.
[Schmitz 2006, p. 57.] The airline was inaugurated in 2004 by Prime Minister
Zafarullah Khan Jamali
Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali (; 1 January 1940 – 2 December 2020) was a Pakistan, Pakistani politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Pakistan from 2002 until his resignation in 2004. He was the first and only elected prime minister fro ...
.
![AIrBlue_A340-300_AP-EDE_IST_27-Nov-2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/AIrBlue_A340-300_AP-EDE_IST_27-Nov-2012.jpg)
During the first year the airline became very popular, which allowed the airline to compete directly with the flag carrier
Pakistan International Airlines
Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...
and the two other private carriers, flying more than 400,000 passengers in the first year with a
load factor of over 90%.
[Schmitz 2006, p. 58.] This allowed the airline to expand into more cities in Pakistan including
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
,
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
and
Nawabshah
Nawabshah ( sd, نوابشاھ, ur, ) is a tehsil and headquarters of the Shaheed Benazirabad District of Sindh province, Pakistan. This city is situated in the middle of Sindh province. It is the 27th largest city in Pakistan. Nawabshah Tehsi ...
.
On 14 August 2005 Airblue launched its first international flight from Karachi to
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
.
On June 4, 2007, Airblue launched its inaugural flight to
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
using the
Airbus A321
The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the ba ...
.
Airblue changed its IATA code from ED to PA in June 2012, the new code originally belonged to the defunct and once iconic carrier
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
. In 2011 the airline launched service to Istanbul’s
Sabiha Gokcen Airport Sabiha is an Arabic word () meaning "Morning" and a female given name. In Urdu it (خوبصورت، گوری چٹی) refers to beautiful, and blonde hair. People with the name include:
People Given name
*Sabiha Sultan (1894–1971), Ottoman princes ...
- a route that was ultimately terminated.
In June 2012, Airblue finalised an agreement to acquire one Airbus A320 and two leased
A340-300s for existing and new international routes. It was also looking at various types of turboprop aircraft for new domestic routes but this plan was eventually dropped. The A340s joined the fleet in October 2012, enabling the airline to strengthen its Manchester route with nonstop flights as well as launch a second UK destination
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
in September 2013 and connect both stations with Lahore. The A340s later also flew to the Middle East. Technical issues related to the aircraft eventually led to them being phased out by January 2014; they had been leased for a five-year term. UK operations also ended with Birmingham being dropped after just three months' service and Manchester ending in January 2014.
Destinations
![Ise building2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Ise_building2.png)
Airblue serves the following destinations as of August 2018, the list also includes former routes.
Services
Cabin
All aircraft in the fleet have a 3-by-3 layout in an all-economy cabin; and have overhead video screens. Airblue formerly had a business class section but dropped it due to exogenous economic factors.
eTicketing
Airblue was the first airline in Pakistan to introduce
e-ticketing, wireless check-in, and self-check-in kiosk facilities. The airline also uses
Sabre
A sabre ( French: sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...
, a ticket distribution system.
Frequent flyer program
The Airblue frequent flyer program is called "Blue Miles". Passengers start at the base level where sign-up is free. Once passengers earn enough miles, there are upgrades to the Blue Card followed by the Platinum Card. In May 2009, the airline allied with
Faysal Bank
Faysal Bank Limited is a Pakistani Islamic bank, a subsidiary of KSA Holdings ultimate parent of bank is KSA Holdings and Ithmaar Bank, based in Karachi, Pakistan. It is named after Mohammed bin Faisal Al Saud.
History
Faysal Bank started in Pak ...
to offer credit cards.
Lounges
Airblue inaugurated its premium lounge at
Jinnah International Airport
Jinnah International Airport ( ur, جناح بین الاقوامی ہوائی اڈا) , formerly Drigh Road Airport or Karachi Civil Airport, is Pakistan's busiest international and domestic airport, and handled 7,267,582 passengers in 2017 ...
, Karachi in November 2008. It has since been closed. Named the ''Blue Lounge International'', it was designed for business class passengers, credit card holders, and privileged customers. The lounge offered Internet facilities, cable television, newspapers and magazines, massage chairs, and a snack bar. It was located in the international terminal of the airport.
Cargo operations
Airblue has launched an e-Cargo service to cater to air freight markets of Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. 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 Web.
Fleet
Current fleet
As of December 2022, the Airblue fleet consists of the following aircraft.
Former fleet
Accidents and incidents
![Airblueflight202crashaircraft](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Airblueflight202crashaircraft.jpg)
* On July 28, 2010,
Airblue Flight 202, flying a domestic route from Karachi to Islamabad with 146 passengers and 6 crew onboard crashed into the
Margalla Hills
The Margalla Hills () are a hill range within the Margalla Hills National Park on the northern edge of Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, just south of Haripur District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They are part of the Himalayas, Himalayan foothi ...
. The aircraft was on final approach to
Benazir Bhutto International Airport
Benazir Bhutto International Airport ( ur, , ) is a defunct airport which formerly served the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area. It was the second-largest airport by air traffic in Pakistan, until 3 May 2018 when it was replaced by the ...
during poor weather conditions when the aircraft impacted the Margalla Hills about 10 nm(18.52 km) north of the airport at an elevation of about above the city. Radio contact with the aircraft was lost at approx. 09:45 local time. All 152 passengers and crew onboard the aircraft were killed in the crash. The aircraft involved was an
Airbus A321-200
The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was the first derivative of the ba ...
registered as ''AP-BJB''.
* On 23 April 2019, an
A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France.
The first member of the famil ...
, registered AP-EDA and operating PA613 from
Sharjah
Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area.
Sharjah is the capital o ...
to
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
suffered a
runway excursion
A runway excursion is a runway safety incident where an aircraft makes an inappropriate exit from the runway. Runway excursions include runway overruns, where an aircraft is unable to stop before it reaches the end of the runway. Runway excursio ...
on landing. The aircraft stopped beyond the end of the runway, but still on paved surface. No injuries were reported.
Partnerships
Airblue currently has a partnership with
PepsiCo
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...
.
Airblue had a contractual partnership with the Ukrainian
Windrose Airlines
Windrose Airlines, legally Wind Rose Aviation Company, is a Ukrainian charter airline based at Boryspil International Airport. Founded on 28 October 2003, the airline's headquarters is in Kyiv; it operates charter flights to destinations in Euro ...
for a three-year wet-lease of some Windrose aircraft. These aircraft carried the Windrose livery with Windrose crew and a mixture of Windrose and Airblue cabin crew. This wet-lease expired in 2016.
See also
*
List of airlines of Pakistan Scheduled airlines
Charter airlines
Cargo airlines
See also
* List of defunct airlines of Pakistan
* List of airlines
* List of defunct airlines of Asia
* Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan
* Transport in Pakistan
References
External lin ...
*
AirSial
Air Sial (stylised as AirSial) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani airline based in Sialkot, Pakistan. It is the third private airline of Pakistan, inaugurated on Wednesday, 9 December 2020. AirSial has been allowed to operate international flights to UAE, ...
*
SereneAir
SereneAir ( ur, ) is a privately owned Pakistani airline that began operating services in January 2017. SereneAir operates scheduled domestic flights within Pakistan and its first international flight departed for Sharjah, United Arab Emirates ...
*
Fly Jinnah
Fly Jinnah or FJ is a low cost carrier (LCC) owned and operated jointly by Lakson Group and Air Arabia Group of the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُت ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
*Schmitz, Sebastian. "airblue: A New High Flyer from Pakistan". ''
Air International
''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.
History and profile
The magazine was fir ...
'', January 2006, Vol 70 No 1. pp. 56–58. ISSN 0306-5634.
External links
Official website
{{Airlines of Pakistan
Airlines of Pakistan
Airlines established in 2003
Companies based in Islamabad
Pakistani brands
Pakistani companies established in 2003