11 June 2011

Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, announced today that it had won the A320 Family Operational Excellence Award by Airbus for the year 2009-2010. The Sharjah-based LCC received the award for achieving the highest level of A320 family aircraft utilisation in the world for a fleet of less than 30 aircraft, with 99.8 per cent operational reliability.
Air Arabia received the prestigious award in Toronto, Canada, during Airbus's biannual symposium of all operators of the A320 Family worldwide. Held earlier last week from May 23 through 26, this year’s symposium marks the fifth consecutive occasion Air Arabia has won the award. This symposium reaffirmed the company’s lead among all global airlines operating the Airbus A320 family aircraft.
Airbus Family symposiums are held every two years and seek to facilitate two-way dialog amongst the aviation industry, ultimately leading to ever safer and more efficient fleets.
“All of us here at Air Arabia are proud to accept this prestigious award. We have always sought to lead the industry not only with our innovative value for money product, but also in providing operational excellence for our customers.,” said Adel Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia.
“Taking this award for the fifth consecutive time has been the result of the fantastic effort put forth by the entire Air Arabia team. We extend a deep thanks to our employees and are confident that Air Arabia will continue to offer superior value and service for travellers across this vibrant region,” Ali concluded.
The selection process for assessing which airline provided the highest operational excellence included a detailed technical analysis of all the carriers in the A320 segment conducted by Airbus. During this ranking process, Air Arabia recorded the highest indicators for its operational excellence over the two-year period from 2009-2010, reflecting the carrier’s unparalleled maintenance and technical standards.
The A320 Family, which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, is recognized as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. Around 6,700 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been sold to some 300 customers and operators worldwide, and over 4,400 A320 delivered, making it the world’s best selling commercial jetliner ever