RAK Airways

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RAK Airways
Rak-airways-logo.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
RTRKMRAKAIR
Founded2006
Ceased operations1 January 2014
Operating bases Ras Al Khaimah International Airport
Fleet size2
Destinations11
Headquarters Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
Key peopleSheikh Saud bin Saqr al Qasimi (Chairman)

RAK Airways was an airline based in Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven states in the United Arab Emirates. [1] [2] It was established in 2006 but briefly ceased operations in 2009 and relaunched in 2010 with a new livery and under new management. [3] On 1 January 2014, the airline suspended all its flights but announced that they may resume at a future date after a restructuring process. [2] [4]

Contents

History

First news about a new airline based in Ras Al Khaimah emerged in 2005 and it was initially called Al Hamra Airlines. UAE Cabinet has later issued its official approval for setting up the RAK Airways as a national carrier in its decision No. 328/4 for 2005. [5] The new airways launched operations in early 2007. [3] The carrier was hard hit during the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and ceased operations in 2009.[ citation needed ]

In 2010 the airline announced that it would be resuming operations with a New "value-for-money" business model, aiming to position itself between full-service and low-cost carriers. [6]

In February 2011, it was revealed that RAK Airways was planning on launching flights to between five and nine new destinations. Though it acknowledged the difficulty of securing slots at several of the destinations due to rival carriers in the UAE, it announced that it was finalizing a codeshare agreement with an Asian carrier and that it would also be increasing the size of its fleet.[ citation needed ]

In 2013, RAK Airways launched flights to Islamabad, Pakistan; and Amman, Jordan. [7]

RAK Airways announced the immediate suspension of all operations on 1 January 2014, citing economic considerations. [2] [8]

Destinations

RAK Airways Airbus A320-200 in 2012 RAK AIRWAYS LAHORE FIRST FLIGHT.JPG
RAK Airways Airbus A320-200 in 2012

In December 2013, RAK Airways served the following destinations: [9]

CountryCityAirportNotesReference
Bangladesh Dhaka Shahjalal International Airport
India Kozhikode Calicut International Airport
Nepal Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport
Pakistan Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Allama Iqbal International Airport, Bacha Khan International Airport
Qatar Doha Doha International Airport Airport closed
Saudi Arabia Jeddah, Riyadh King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh
United Arab Emirates Ras al-Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah International Airport Hub

Bus operations

RAK Airways also operated bus services from Ras Al Khaimah to other UAE destinations like Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Ain, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain, and Khor Fakkan.[ citation needed ]

Fleet

As of August 2013, the RAK Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft and had pending orders for Boeing 737 Next Generation  : [10]

RAK Airways Fleet
AircraftIn FleetNotes
Airbus A320-200 2
Total2

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah</span> Emirate and one of the constituents of the United Arab Emirates

Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The city of Ras Al Khaimah, abbreviated to RAK or RAK City, is the capital of the emirate and home to most of the emirate's residents. It is linked to the Islamic trading port of Julfar. Its name in English means "headland of the tent". The emirate borders Oman's exclave of Musandam, and occupies part of the same peninsula. It covers an area of 2,486 km2 (960 sq mi) and has 64 km (40 mi) of beach coastline. As of 2015, the emirate had a population of about 345,000.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi</span> Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah

Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi was the Ruler of Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah from 1948 to 2010. On 10 February 1972, under his leadership, Ras Al Khaimah become the seventh Trucial State to join the United Arab Emirates.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi</span> Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah

Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi is the current ruler of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. He became the chief of the ruler’s Emiri court in 1979, the head of the Municipal Council in 1986, and the Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of the Emirate in June 2003. Then, he officially became the ruler of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in 2010 after his father’s death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ras Al Khaimah</span> City in United Arab Emirates

Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain and Ajman. The city is divided by a creek into two parts: old town in the west and Al Nakheel in the east.

References

  1. RAK Airways ready to fly into India. Business Standard , P R Sanjai, 2 October 2006.
  2. 1 2 3 timesofoman.com - RAK Airways suspends operations
  3. 1 2 "2001-10-10" . Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  4. "RAK Airways will fly again despite operations shutdown" . Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  5. "RAK Airways launched with a capital base of Dh1.5b". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  6. Bianchi, Stefania (26 September 2010). "RAK Airways to Restart Operations on October 10". Bloomberg.
  7. RAK Airways to fly to Islamabad and Amman
  8. "RAK Airways suspends operations indefinitely". Emirates247.com. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  9. Flight schedule archive PDF
  10. RAK Airways Fleet

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