<article><p class="lead">Emirati budget airline Air Arabia has agreed to establish a new carrier in partnership with Pakistani business conglomerate Lakson Group.</p><p>The proposed joint venture, named 'Fly Jinnah', will be a low-cost carrier operating out of the Jinnah International Airport (JIA) in Karachi will initially serve the domestic market, before expanding its network internationally. </p><p>The launch of the new airline is part of Pakistan's strategic vision to enhance the travel and tourism sector and contribute to the country's economic growth and job creation. </p><p>"We are excited to partner with Air Arabia in launching Pakistan's new low-cost carrier," chairman of Lakson Group Iqbal Ali Lakhani said. "Fly Jinnah will serve Pakistan's travel and tourism sector and will play a constructive role in contributing to the nation's economic growth...while providing citizens and visitors of the country with a new option of value for money air travel." </p><p>Details about the start-up of operation, fleet, and planned routes are yet to be announced. But the airline will soon begin working on securing the Air Operating Certificate (AOC) which would give the airline regulatory approval to start operating. </p><p>News of this venture comes despite Pakistan's air travel and jet fuel demand still holding well below pre-Covid-19 levels. Jet fuel demand stood at 507,000t (4mn bl) in the latest fiscal year, which ran from July 2020 to June 2021, down by 28pc from 700,000t in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, according to data from Pakistan's Oil Companies Advisory Committee. </p><p>'Fly Jinnah' will be the fifth Pakistani airline operating out of Karachi's JIA after Pakistan International Airlines, Airblue, SereneAir and Air Sial. </p><p>Air Arabia, which mainly operates from Sharjah, has established similar joint ventures in <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/1998102">Abu Dhabi</a>, Egypt, Morocco and Armenia in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. </p><p class="bylines">By Sarah Raffoul</p></article>
