Air Arabia is looking to expand the number of cheap airfares it offers to passengers in the UAE. Photo: Air Arabia
Air Arabia is looking to expand the number of cheap airfares it offers to passengers in the UAE. Photo: Air Arabia
Air Arabia is looking to expand the number of cheap airfares it offers to passengers in the UAE. Photo: Air Arabia
Air Arabia is looking to expand the number of cheap airfares it offers to passengers in the UAE. Photo: Air Arabia

Air Arabia to launch direct flights from Sharjah to Milan


Selina Denman
  • English
  • Arabic

Air Arabia will launch direct flights between Sharjah and Milan at the end of the year.

The low-cost carrier will operate four weekly services between Sharjah International Airport and Milan Bergamo Airport from December 7. Outbound flights from Sharjah will be operated on Wednesdays and Sundays at 6.45am and Mondays and Thursdays at 9.55pm. Inbound flights from Milan will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Friday and Sundays.

“Milan is the latest addition to our growing network from Sharjah and provides our customer base in the UAE and beyond with the opportunity to travel to Italy with our renowned value driven product,” says Adel Abdullah Al Ali, Air Arabia’s group chief executive.

“The launch of Air Arabia’s direct flights to Milan reaffirms our commitment to continuously offer our customers new destinations to discover while providing them with affordable and value driven air travel. We look forward to the start of the flights to Milan and to welcome our customers to explore this marvellous city.”

UAE will have better access to popular tourist sites in Milan, such as the Duomo di Milano. Photo: Daryan Shamkhali / Unsplash
UAE will have better access to popular tourist sites in Milan, such as the Duomo di Milano. Photo: Daryan Shamkhali / Unsplash

Bookings are already open for the new route, which will be operated on Air Arabia’s Airbus A320 and A321 neo-LR aircraft. The airline prides itself on offering one of the most generous seat pitches in economy class, along with SkyTime, a free in-flight service allowing passengers to stream a wide selection of content directly to their devices.

Passengers can also benefit from the airline’s City Check-in service, which enables them to drop off their luggage and collect their boarding passes at various Air Arabia sales shops across the UAE.

The airline is gearing up for a busy few months, with the launch of 14 daily shuttle flights between Sharjah and Doha starting November 21.

The carrier, which already operates three daily scheduled flights from Sharjah International Airport to Hamad International Airport, has launched the additional services for ticket holders of the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022. Only fans with tickets are eligible to board the shuttle flights, with each passenger entitled to 10 kilograms of hand baggage.

"The shuttle flights will provide fans with easy, reliable and timely access in and out of Doha to enjoy the matches and return right after," says Al Ali.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: August 16, 2022, 1:24 PM