RAK Airways to relaunch later this year

RAK Airways, the UAE’s fourth national carrier, announced Wednesday it will re-launch services before the end of this year, following a hiatus of just over 12 months.

Sheikh Omar Bin Saqr Al Qassimi, Chairman of RAK Airways, explained that the exceptionally tough market conditions, created by the global economic turndown during 2008/09, which had forced the airline to suspend schedule services in May 2009, had now sufficiently abated.

“We are now ready to make a strategic re-entry into the market,” he said. “We have a lot of exciting new plans, which will be unveiled soon. Omar Jahameh, our recently appointed CEO and his team are finalising the details of our flights to destinations in the Gulf, Africa and the Indian Sub Continent,” he added.

“The decision to re-launch the airline is part of the ambitious vision of Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qassimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, aimed at boosting tourism in the emirate. RAK Airways is viewed as a key part of that plan,” Sheikh Omar concluded.

Sheikh Saud had also told Emirates Business in May 2009, the decision to suspend services was a commercial one, saying: “In my opinion, the commercial benefits were not there and there was no point keeping it [RAK Airways] in business.”

The Ras Al Khaimah carrier was created by the emirate’s government in 2005 and started operations at the end of 2007. The airline carried about 125,000 passengers in 2008 before suspending services in December due to difficulties with its aircraft. It subsequently reduced its fleet size from three aircraft to one, and terminated its services to Dhaka, Colombo, Calicut and Chittagong. At the same time the airline also cut 60 jobs.
 There was speculation it was going to be re launched as a low cost carrier.

The airline also ran on a charter-only basis using its only aircraft, a Boeing 757-200. The cost of operating an airline with just one aircraft, besides logistics, was the key factor that forced the airline to terminate operations in 2009.

RAK Airways has been in negotiations for sometime with Boeing thereafter to lease and purchase up to four Boeing single-aisle 737 aircraft, according to industry sources. With these new aircraft, the airline was planning to launch services to new international destinations such as Brussels, Dusseldorf and Beirut as and when it restarts operations.

The airline had earlier announced it had on order four new 737-800s worth Dh1.65 billion (Dh6.06bn), for delivery by 2011.
 

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