Air Arabia, the Sharjah-based low-cost carrier, has announced the launch of its new and improved website in line with its ongoing commitment to customer care and technical innovation.

The upgraded website  (www.airarabia.com) provides a simple, user-friendly experience and includes a wide range of new and expanded features, making booking with Air Arabia easier and more efficient than ever, said a company statement.

Air Arabia’s upgraded website offers features such as booking modification, online check-in from Sharjah Airport, meal and seat selection, meet and assist services, and lounge access.

This multilingual site can now be accessed in Arabic, English, French and Russian. By the end of this year, the site will also be available in Spanish and Italian, it said.

As the first regional airline to offer e-ticketing solutions, Air Arabia pioneered this service in the Middle East and remains committed to providing technological innovations that make air travel more accessible and affordable. Since Air Arabia introduced online booking more than six years ago, the service has proved increasingly popular – driven by soaring Internet penetration rates across the region.

“Currently, a majority of Air Arabia passengers book their tickets online, and we continue to witness significant year-on-year increases in the percentage of customers who take advantage of this service,” said AK Nizar, head of Commercial Department, Air Arabia.

According to the most recently available data, Nizar pointed out, Middle East Internet usage increased a stunning 1,177 per cent between 2000-2008.

Currently, there are more than 48 million Internet users in the region – who spend an average 22 minutes a day online. In the UAE, which has the highest Internet penetration rate in the Middle East, nearly 60 per cent of the population is now online.

“At a time when more of our customers than ever are booking their tickets online, thanks to the simplicity of this service, we recognised the importance of upgrading our existing website,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service