Airblue

Airblue Limited (stylized as airblue) is a private Pakistani airline with its head office on the 12th floor of the Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) Towers in Islamabad, Pakistan.[1] Airblue operates scheduled domestic and international flights, the latter to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Not to be confused with Air Bleu, Blue1, Blue Air, Blue Panorama Airlines, JetBlue, Pacific Blue Airlines, or Virgin Blue.
Airblue
IATA ICAO Callsign
PA ABQ AIRBLUE
Founded2003
Commenced operations18 June 2004
HubsJinnah International Airport (Karachi)
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programBlue Miles
SubsidiariesAirbahn
Fleet size11
Destinations10
HeadquartersIslamabad Stock Exchange Towers
Islamabad, Pakistan
Key people
Websiteairblue.com

History

The airline was established in 2003 by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Tariq Chaudhry Pakistani-American IT professional.[2] Airblue started operations on 18 June 2004 with three leased Airbus A320-200 aircraft serving Karachi–Lahore, and Karachi–Islamabad with three daily flights in each direction.[3] The airline was inaugurated in 2004 by Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali.

An Airblue Airbus A320-200 at Dubai International Airport
A now-retired Airblue Airbus A340-300 taking off from Istanbul Atatürk Airport after maintenance.

During the first year the airline became very popular,[4] which allowed the airline to compete directly with the flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines and the two other private carriers, flying more than 400,000 passengers in the first year with a load factor of over 90%.[5] This allowed the airline to expand into more cities in Pakistan including Peshawar, Quetta and Nawabshah.[3]

On 14 August 2005 Airblue launched its first international flight from Karachi to Dubai.[3] On June 4, 2007, Airblue launched its inaugural flight to Manchester using the Airbus A321.[6]

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. In 2011 the airline launched service to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport - 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 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.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi resigned from airblue in 2013, when he got elected as a minister. He has no record of ownership as per Security & Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

Destinations
Islamabad Stock Exchange Towers - Airblue's headquarters

Airblue serves the following destinations as of August 2018,[7] the list also includes former routes.

Country City Airport Status Refs
 OmanMuscatMuscat International AirportTerminated[8]
 PakistanFaislabadFaisalabad International AirportTerminated[9]
GwadarGwadar International AirportTerminated[10]
IslamabadIslamabad International AirportFocus city[8]
KarachiJinnah International AirportHub[8]
LahoreAllama Iqbal International AirportFocus city[8]
MultanMultan International Airport[8][11]
PeshawarBacha Khan International Airport[8]
QuettaQuetta International AirportTerminated[9]
Rahim Yar KhanShaikh Zayed International AirportTerminated[8]
SialkotSialkot International AirportTerminated[8]
 Saudi ArabiaDammamKing Fahd International AirportTerminated[8]
JeddahKing Abdulaziz International AirportFocus city[8]
MedinaPrince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz AirportTerminated[8]
RiyadhKing Khalid International Airport[8]
 TurkeyIstanbulSabiha Gokcen International AirportTerminated[12]
 United Arab EmiratesAbu DhabiAbu Dhabi International AirportFocus city[8]
DubaiDubai International AirportFocus city[8]
SharjahSharjah International Airport[8]
 United KingdomBirminghamBirmingham AirportTerminated[13]
ManchesterManchester AirportTerminated[14]

Services

Cabin
The interior of an Airblue Airbus A320-200
The interior of an Airblue Airbus A321-200

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 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 to offer credit cards.[15]

Lounges

Airblue inaugurated its premium lounge at Jinnah International Airport, 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.[16] 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
Airblue Airbus A320-200 flying at Dubai International Airport on January 10, 2006.
Airblue Airbus A321-200 taking off from Manchester Airport on June 26, 2009. Note: This aircraft crashed into the Margalla Hills on July 28, 2010, killing all 146 passengers and 6 crew members.

As of July 2020, airblue fleet consists of the following aircraft:[17]

Aircraft In service Orders Passengers
Economy		 Notes
Airbus A320-200 5 — 180 Two in storage
Airbus A321-200 5 — 220
Airbus A321neo 1 4 244
Total 11 4

Former fleet
Airblue Airbus A319 taxing at Dubai International Airport on April 26, 2012.
A now-retired Airblue Airbus A340-300 taking off from Istanbul Atatürk Airport after maintenance.
Airblue Airbus A321-200 leased from Windrose Airlines taking off from Benazir Bhutto International Airport on 3 January 2016.
Aircraft Introduced Retired
Airbus A319-100 2008 2014
Airbus A330-200[18] 2015 2016
Airbus A340-300 2012 2014
ATR 72-600[19] 2015 2015

Accidents and incidents
Airblue Flight 202, registration AP-BJB crashed as on 28 July 2010. The aircraft is seen here at Manchester Airport on June 24, 2010, 1 month before.[20]
  • 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 aircraft was on final approach to Benazir Bhutto International Airport 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 1,000 feet (300 m) 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.[21] The aircraft involved was an Airbus A321-200 registered as AP-BJB.

Partnerships

Airblue currently has a partnership with PepsiCo.[22] Airblue had a contractual partnership with the Ukrainian Windrose Airlines 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

References

Citations
  1. "Contacting Us Archived 2010-07-29 at the Wayback Machine." Airblue. Retrieved on 28 July 2010. "Airblue Limited (Corporate Headquarters) 12th Floor, ISE Towers 55-B Jinnah Avenue Islamabad 111-247-258."
  2. "Pakistan's AirBlue gets ready to go". Flight Global.
  3. Schmitz 2006, p. 57.
  4. "Pakistan’s popular private airline AirBlue to begin Flights to the UK in May" Pakistan Times, Printed Jan 28, 2007,
  5. Schmitz 2006, p. 58.
  6. "AirBlue Begins Pakistan-UK Flights from June 1". Archived from the original on 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  7. "Flight Schedule". www.airblue.com.
  8. "Airblue schedule". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  9. "Airblue former map". Archived from the original on 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  10. "AIRBLUE LAUNCHES KARACHI � GAWADAR FLIGHTS". www.pakistaneconomist.com. replacement character in |title= at position 26 (help)
  11. "Airblue ATR72 service advertisement".
  12. Rizvi, Muzaffar. "Airblue starts Istanbul service". Khaleej Times.
  13. "Air Blue suspends Birmingham to Pakistan flights". BBC News. 21 November 2013. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015.
  14. "Airblue Cancels Islamabad – Manchester Service from late-January 2014". Routes Online. 20 January 2014. Archived from the original on 19 November 2016.
  15. "Promotional Campaign Launched". Archived from the original on 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  16. "Airblue - Become a Certified Airblue eCargo Agent". www.airblue.com.
  17. AirBlue Fleet Details and History planespotters.net, access date 17 September 2020
  18. "AirBlue wet-leases Ukrainian A330-200". ch-aviation.
  20. "Crash: AirBlue A321 near Islamabad on Jul 28th 2010". Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  21. "Crash: AirBlue A321 near Islamabad on Jul 28th 2010, impacted mountainous [sic] terrain near the airport". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  22. Pepsi co., Airblue. "Airblue's partnership with Pepsi co".

Bibliography
  • Schmitz, Sebastian. "airblue: A New High Flyer from Pakistan". Air International, January 2006, Vol 70 No 1. pp. 56–58. ISSN 0306-5634.

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