| Airline: | Airblue |
| Iata: | PA |
| Icao: | ABQ |
| Callsign: | AIRBLUE |
| Fleet Size: | 12+17 |
| Destinations: | 20[1] |
| Headquarters: | Islamabad Stock Exchange Towers Islamabad-44000, Pakistan |
| Key People: | Tariq Chaudhary (Founder & CEO) |
| Frequent Flyer: | Blue Miles |
| Subsidiaries: | Airbahn |
Airblue Limited (stylized as airblue) is a private Pakistani airline with its head office on the ground floor of the Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) Towers in Islamabad, Pakistan.[2] Airblue operates scheduled domestic and international flights, the latter to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. As of February 2024, the airline serves three countries and 17 routes.[3]
The airline was established in 2003 by Tariq Chaudhary, a Pakistani-American IT professional.[4] 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.[5] The airline was inaugurated in 2004 by Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali.During the first year the airline became very popular,[6] which allowed the airline to compete directly with the flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines and the two other private carriers on mostly domestic front, flying more than 400,000 passengers in the first year with a load factor of over 90%.[7] The airline expanded its domestic network to include flights to Peshawar and Quetta. It also had to fly the routes known as socia economic routes or tertiary routes as part of the licence from Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. Hence flights to Sukker and Nawabshah were added briefly as part of the tertiary routes under obligation.[5]
On 14 August 2005 Airblue launched its first international flight from Karachi to Dubai. On June 4, 2007, Airblue launched its inaugural flight to Manchester using the Airbus A321.[8] Due to range issue the Manchester route was initially routed through Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport and later via Trabzon airport. These stops were only refueling stops where the plane landed, passengers disembarked and waited in the transit hall. The aircraft refueled and passngers boarded the plane again to continue their flight to destination.
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 soon 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 also looked at add turboprop aircraft for its domestic routes. An ATR 72-600 registration OM-AQD, construction number 1162, built in 2014 owned by Slovakian Airline Quick Duck also came to Pakistan on weklease. But the plan was dropped due to capacity isues of the aircraft. Airblue wanted to use these ATRs mainly for its socio economic or teriary routes.
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.
Airblue serves the following destinations as of August 2018,[9] the list also includes former routes.
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.
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.
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.[17]
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.
Airblue has launched an e-Cargo service to cater to air freight markets of Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.[18] 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.
, Airblue operates the following aircraft.
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 5 | — | |
| Airbus A321-200 | 5 | — | |
| Airbus A321neo | 2 | — | |
| Total | 12 | 0 |
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 2008 | 2014 | |
| [19] | 2015 | 2016 | |
| 2012 | 2014 | ||
| ATR 72-600[20] | 2015 | 2015 |
In November 2017 Airblue extended its partnership with PepsiCo.[23] 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.
