Air Arabia, the low-cost carrier based in Sharjah, UAE, aims to operate services to all airports in the Arab world, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, its top official has said.

The airline's chief executive Adel Ali told the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication, on the sidelines of the Arab Aviation and Media Summit 2014 in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, that this was a key goal for the airline that has entered into its second decade of operations.

Air Arabia currently flies to 89 airports across the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe from its four hubs of Sharjah, Alexandria, Casablanca and Ras Al Khaimah, which was launched earlier this year following a long-term strategic partnership with Ras Al Khaimah Department of Civil Aviation.

"Growing economies, increasing numbers of tourists and ongoing economic diversification will drive demand for low-cost aviation," he said.

"However, the enormous benefits to the region of a thriving aviation industry means there is a real urgency to address the areo-political challenges that exist in the region.

According to him, the absence of "true open-skies" policies along with the lack of privatisation in the Arab world remain the major barriers to the progress of the region's aviation sector.

"Considering that the Arab region has a population of approximately 350 million, and if we open our skies among each other and allow free flow of tourists, the aviation size will be the same as that existing in America," he said.

Air Arabia flew more than 1.6 million passengers in the second quarter of this year, an increase of eight per cent compared to the 1.5 million passengers carried in the same period of last year.

"We have seen an 11 per cent increase in capacity in the first half of this year, yet we have sustained a high average seat factor and seen first half turnover increase by 15 per cent.

The average yield for the first half of the year has also increased by six per cent mainly due to low-cost management practices, he said.

Ali said the airline's fuel hedging strategy has contributed significantly to the company's bottom line.

"At Air Arabia, we work hard on minimising the impact of fuel volatility on ticket prices and our performance, aided by operational efficiencies such as hedging the fuel needs."

He said as its launch destination, Bahrain held a very special place in the Air Arabia route network.

"Over the last 11 years, our operations to Bahrain have grown from just a few weekly flights to 14 weekly non-stop services between the UAE and Bahrain.

"The average seat load factor for our services to Bahrain is more than 85 per cent, making it one of our most popular destinations."

As a hub for both leisure and business travel, Bahrain is in a particularly advantageous position when it comes to air travel, he added.

The airline sees significant demand from Bahraini nationals and residents who travel between the UAE and Bahrain on a regular basis.

"In fact, a large number of Air Arabia employees are from Bahrain and they travel very frequently."

The airline currently operates 14 flights a week to Bahrain and has got additional landing rights which will see its frequency rise to 17 per week with three more flights over the weekend, when the winter schedule is implemented.

"For an open market like Bahrain and taking into consideration the great tourism and economic ties between both nations, there is a great opportunity for us to further invest in additional flights to the kingdom which would potentially benefit its economy," he said

The fourth edition of the summit was held at the Hamra Convention Centre in Ras Al Khaimah.

It was backed by Air Arabia, Airbus Group, CFM, Oman's Ministry of Tourism and Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority.

The theme for the event this year was "Aviation and Tourism: Common Vision and Purpose." - TradeArabia News Service