Air Arabia eyes Jordan's first budget airline

UAE-based budget airline Air Arabia said on Monday it signed an agreement to launch Jordan's first low-cost carrier and announced its fourth regional hub, as the airline continues its expansion plans.

The Arab world's largest listed airline signed a joint venture agreement with Jordanian Tantash Group to launch Air Arabia Jordan which will be based in the country's capital Amman, it said in a statement.

The new low-cost carrier will serve destinations across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

"We are confident of the long-term growth opportunities for the first low-cost carrier in the Kingdom," Adel Ali, Air Arabia's chief executive said.

Air Arabia, set up in 2003 in Sharjah in the UAE, also has a hub in Morocco and recently launched operations in its third hub in Egypt. Its business is under pressure from rivals including Kuwait's Jazeera Airways and Dubai-owned flydubai.

Tantash Group, based in Amman, is an investment company with interests in travel and tourism, real estate, financial services and industrial investment.