Is Air Arabia ready for takeoff? (page 2 of 2)

It hopes to get approval to operate to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the Indian subcontinent.

"Our only challenge," Ali says "is that those countries might want to block us to protect their national airlines. We hope they will realize that the public has the right to lower fares."

Negotiating landing rights across the wider region will not be easy for Air Arabia. The industry, worldwide, is extremely protectionist, and governments are unlikely to give Air Arabia permission to fly in unless they get something in return.

This will lead to bare-knuckle negotiating between the airline and various regulatory bodies - and to inevitable delays. And the longer it takes Air Arabia to expand its list of destinations, the harder it will be for the company to turn a profit.

While Air Arabia is government owned, Ali says it will "run on its own strength as a commercial entity." It has no plans to operate to Europe or anywhere else because such a move would be beyond the scope of the Air Arabia concept. "Europe is too far away," Ali says, "and anyway there are already too many airlines connecting with the Middle East."

Ali also rejects any notion that Air Arabia is at a disadvantage being based at Sharjah airport - which is almost literally in the shadow of Dubai airport, now one of the best-known in the world.

"Sharjah is an easy, user-friendly airport for passengers," says Ali. "There is also a big catchment area in the northern emirates. And as far as air traffic is concerned, it is not congested."