Djibouti Air to commence service on 22-Feb-2011

Djibouti Air CEO Shabab Attarzadeh stated the start-up carrier will commence operations on 22-Feb-2011 with details as follows (Gulf News, 31-Jan-2011):

• Investors: A UAE private investor, Ebrahim Saeed Lootah, chairman of Lootah Group, is the majority shareholder in the airline, while the Djibouti Government also has an ownership position;
• Fleet: Operations will commence with one B737-200 aircraft configured with eight business and 112 economy seats. A second aircraft will be added within 20 days which will be configured with 145 seats including eight in business;
• Network: The first flight will be from Djibouti to Dubai operated with six times weekly frequency. Within the first six months, the carrier also plans to launch services to Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen and Kenya. Subsequently, it will expand into Europe and East Asia, while increasing frequencies to Middle Eastern countries.;
• Executives: Shabab Attarzadeh is CEO while Ebrahim Saeed Lootah is also a board member;
• Launch strategy: To undercut market fares;
• Traffic: The carrier expects to handle 1500 passengers in the first month.