Rak Airways aims to spread wings

Friday, Jul 08, 2011

Gulf News

Dubai Having re-emerged from a shaky beginning, RAK Airways is now enjoying the influx of passengers attracted by Ras Al Khaimah’s rapid industrial and tourist expansion.

The local airline, which is not quite budget and not quite full cost, now flies to five destinations direct. If all continues to go well, they’re also looking to expand further.

Omar Jahameh, CEO of Rak Airways talks to Gulf News about how the airline is doing, challenges to the industry and future plans.

GULF NEWS: RAK Airways now flies to five destinations. What are the passenger figures for these destinations?

Omar Jahameh: As RAK Airways re-launched its operations less than a year ago we are still very much in the initial stages of our development. On an average, Rak Airways has been carrying over 20,000 passengers per month. Load factors have typically averaged around the 80 per cent mark with many flights sold out.

Due to the heavy demand for RAK Airways services, the frequency of flights to Kozhikode has been increased to five a week from its initial four. Active consideration is also being given to increasing the number of Jeddah flights and new routes too.

High passenger numbers have led to excellent load factors on most flights and as such we are very optimistic of the airline’s success in the short and medium term.

What percentage of your passengers are tourists and what percentage of passengers are business?

At the moment outbound tourism forms the largest percentage as the RAK Airways ‘small fares, big deals’ offering has been extremely well-received by customers looking to fly home to their countries of origin more often or just wanting to visit a new destination.

The highest expatriate population in RAK is from the Indian subcontinent and from emerging countries. RAK will be dependent on this target demographic to grow RAK Airways and as such the Indian subcontinent and the wider Middle East region will continue to remain the focus of our expansion plans. We do nonetheless see our operations very much as a major part of Ras Al Khaimah’s vision for boosting tourism into the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and we are currently focusing our marketing on increasing this sector of the business.

We are also looking to attract more businessmen on board and in this regard we will be making a major new product announcement in the coming months. Finally, of course our main objective is to be a successful airline moving traffic to and from RAK, but we would also like to grow our operations in Ras Al Khaimah as a hub, acting as a regional gateway for a number of routes in the future.

Are you looking to add further destinations? If so, in what time frame?

Since its re-launch in October last year, RAK Airways has grown its route network to five destinations which include Kozhikode, Jeddah, Cairo, Dhaka and Chittagong.

With high passenger numbers leading to excellent loadings, the airline is actively considering further destinations to add to its growing route network and we can expect these to be elsewhere in the Gulf, Indian sub-continent, CIS and the African continent.

As the CEO of the airline, my mandate is to provide an extensive network with convenient connections to meet the travel needs of our customers.

How much investment is going into this expansion?

We currently have two aircraft which are used on all our five routes. As we plan to expand our route network, we are of course considering expanding our fleet and this is where the major investment will occur. We cannot reveal the extent of investment at this stage but we are looking at numerous options.

We are also working closely with the management of RAK Airport to enhance all the facilities at the airport for all our passengers.

This is part of an airport-wide refurbishment programme, further details of which can be obtained from RAK Airport itself.

How is RAK Airways working with the government to help it promote the emirate’s business and tourism infrastructure?

Operating from Ras Al Khaimah affords the airline many unique opportunities which we have leveraged and taken advantage of after the downturn.

The wide-ranging organisational and economic reforms implemented to promote local businesses, has attracted a steady flow of foreign investment in various industries in Ras Al Khaimah.

Committed to realising the latent potential of Ras Al Khaimah, His Highness Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, has focused on improving the sectors in which the emirate has a comparative advantage: tourism, real estate and manufacturing.

Ras Al Khaimah is a wonderful place to do business, with a vibrant economy, together with a stable political environment. The cost of living and doing business in Ras Al Khaimah is markedly lower than other emirates and far less than traditional business centres such as New York, London or Mumbai, yet it is perfectly positioned at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. The international airport in Ras Al Khaimah is also currently being refurbished to equip it to handle more aircraft and passengers

So we are working hand in glove with RAK Tourism, RAK Investment Authority as well as the airport where RAK Airways will play a pivotal role in the development of Ras Al Khaimah; similarly aligning itself with the overall economic vision of Ras Al Khaimah will be keys to our success.

What kind of offers and deals do you have to attract passengers?

In terms of tourism offerings Ras Al Khaimah has a lot to offer holiday-makers – natural coastline, resorts, history and archaeology; and we recognise that RAK Airways can play a pivotal role in promoting inbound tourism. We have already partnered with the major hotels and resorts in Ras Al Khaimah to offer holiday-makers competitive rates. Our RAK Holidays division will initially concentrate on serving inbound traffic.

In terms of onboard offerings we are not a low cost airline. Our fares are permanently low and we offer a full baggage allowance, a shuttle service and serve a complimentary hot meal and beverages on-board all flights.

The free shuttle service is currently available from Dubai and the northern emirates and this will be extended to other neighbouring emirates to service both inbound and outbound flights.

Our customers also benefit from week-long complimentary parking at Ras Al Khaimah Airport.

How do you compete with other low cost carriers such as Air Arabia and flydubai?

RAK Airways aims to occupy a niche segment between the well-established full service carriers and the low-cost carriers. We aim to deliver a value offering that differentiates itself from low-cost carriers. Despite our low fares, RAK Airways still offers a full baggage allowance, a shuttle service, free parking service at Ras Al Khaimah Airport and serves a complimentary hot meal and beverages onboard all flights. We will soon be announcing new routes, which will further cement our position in a niche segment, that is markedly different to the other carriers from neighbouring emirates.

What are the main challenges of operating as a carrier in the region?

The regional airline industry has reached a vital point in its growth curve and the option of low-cost airlines is posing exciting challenges and opportunities to the airline market alongside the major players.

For RAK Airways there is a challenge and an opportunity — for as we keep saying we aim to occupy a niche segment in between the well-established full service carriers and the low-cost carriers. We aim to deliver a value offering that differentiates itself from low-cost carriers.

However we are not immune to economic challenges, and while ‘new’ competitors ourselves, we see even newer entrants adding competition, while more and more countries also adopt open sky policies.

However, if an airline is to stay afloat and profitable, the most important issues by far that need to addressed are those rising operational costs.

By Aya Lowe?Staff Reporter