Air Arabia (G9, Sharjah) is nearing a decision on its planned large narrowbody order with Airbus being the front runner for the deal, Reuters has reported.
An agreement between the Emirati low-cost carrier and Airbus could be announced during the upcoming Dubai Air Show, which is due to take place at Dubai World Central airport between November 17 and 21, 2019. While the show was traditionally dominated by Emirates (EK, Dubai International), the carrier is not expected to place any orders this year.
Air Arabia has been vocal about its plans to place a narrowbody order for the past few months. The agreement is likely to cover at least 100 jets and possibly as much as 120 aircraft.
The LCC is an all-Airbus operator at this moment with thirty-nine A320-200s and three A321-200neo. Air Arabia Egypt (E5, Alexandria Borg el Arab) operates three A320-200s and Air Arabia Maroc (3O, Casablanca Mohamed V) - ten A320-200s, the ch-aviation fleets module shows.
Air Arabia has recently launched a new joint venture with Etihad Airways, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi (3L, Abu Dhabi International). The airline did not provide any further details regarding the fleet and network strategy of this new unit.
