Dubai to launch low-cost carrier

The government of Dubai unveiled plans on 18 March to launch in 2009 a second passenger carrier in the fast-growing emirate. The carrier will operate under a low-cost model and be based at Jebel Ali, where Dubai is developing a massive new airport in Jebel Ali, a low-cost terminal is featured in phase one of the project and will likely open next year.

Existing low cost carriers, Air Arabia, by the Sharjah government, Kuwait-based Jazeera.

United Arab Emirates market share - low-cost carriers

Airline
Weekly departures
Air Arabia 211
Air India Express 76
Jazeera Airways 17
Bahrain Air 14
Sama 11
flyyeti.com 7
Mihin Lanka 7
NAS Air 5
TOTAL low-cost carriers 348
NOTE: Based on weekly departures at all UAE airports combined, March 2008. SOURCE: Innovata.

In the UAE, low-cost carriers now account for only 12% of all departures only account for 4% of traffic in the Middle East-North Africa region, compared with over 30% in the USA and Europe.

India is by far the UAE's largest low-cost market because of the large Indian migrant population working in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Demand in the UAE-India market is clearly outpacing supply.

Air India Express the second largest low-cost carrier in the UAE. India privately owned low-cost carriers, including Air Deccan and SpiceJet, seek to launch international services to seek more access to UAE airports with Dubai at the top of their wish lists.

Saudi government's Sama and NAS Air became the third and fourth low-cost carriers in the Middle East last year and a fifth, Bahrain Air, launched operations in February.

read more from source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/03/20/222409/news-focus-dubai-to-launch-low-cost-carrier.html