A start-up carrier plans to launch the first scheduled passenger flights by fixed-wing aircraft in the United Arab Emirates. Eastern Express, established by Al Hajjar Aviation in partnership with Abulhoul Aviation and prominent local businessmen from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, will offer flights between Fujairah and Abu Dahbi, providing feeder traffic into the expanding Middle East hub and base of national carrier Etihad Airways. The airline expects to launch operations in the first quarter of 2012 and will lease a BAe Jetstream 41 turboprop to serve the route.
The business models of the major airlines within the Middle East are based upon the hub-and-spoke concept but this has previously been on a regional, rather than domestic basis. Eastern Express plans to initially offer two daily flights between Fujairah and Abu Dhabi, before adding new feeder flights to other destinations across the Gulf Cooperation Council. According to the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Alex de Vos, Bahrain has already been selected as the second destination with operations commencing a few months after its inauguration.
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