RAK Airways
IATA ICAO Callsign
RT RKM RAKAIR
Founded2006
Ceased operations1 January 2014
Operating basesRas Al Khaimah International Airport
Fleet size2
Destinations11
HeadquartersRas 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]

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.

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.

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

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

Country City Airport Notes Reference
BangladeshDhakaShahjalal International Airport
IndiaKozhikodeCalicut International Airport
NepalKathmanduTribhuvan International Airport
PakistanIslamabad, Lahore, PeshawarBenazir Bhutto International Airport, Allama Iqbal International Airport, Bacha Khan International Airport
QatarDohaDoha International Airport
Saudi ArabiaJeddah, RiyadhKing Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh
United Arab EmiratesRas al-KhaimahRas Al Khaimah International AirportHub

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.

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
Aircraft In Fleet Notes
Airbus A320-200 2
Total 2

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

Media related to RAK Airways at Wikimedia Commons

  • rakairways.com (last official record on archive.org). No longer an official website.
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