Shaheen Air

Shaheen Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
NL SAI SHAHEEN AIR
Founded 1993
Commenced operations 25 October 1994
Hubs Jinnah International Airport
Secondary hubs
Fleet size 21 (6 on order)
Destinations 22
Headquarters Terminal 1 Rd,Jinnah International Airport
Karachi, Pakistan
Key people Kashif Sehbai (Chairman)
Website shaheenair.com

Shaheen Air International operating as Shaheen Air is a private Pakistani airline with its head office on the grounds of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.[1] Shaheen Air, which provides passenger, cargo and charter services, serves the major cities of Pakistan and the Persian Gulf. It was founded in December 1993 and was established on 25 October 1994. The airline focuses much of its routes on cities in Northern Pakistan, rather than Karachi. The airline's primary hub is Jinnah International Airport (KHI), Karachi, with secondary hubs at Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB), Islamabad and at Allama Iqbal International Airport (LHE), Lahore.

Besides serving major domestic routes i.e. Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, D.G.Khan and Peshawar, Shaheen Air has also been operating flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Al Ain, Kuwait, Doha and Muscat from almost all the major international gateways of Pakistan.

History and Modernization

A Shaheen Air International Tupolev Tu-154M taxiing at Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates. (1999)

In 2004, Shaheen Air International (SAI) became Shaheen Air and the airline introduced a new livery and corporate website. The airline was founded by Khalid Mehmood Sehbai (Late) who was the airline's first chairman. At first the airline introduced nationwide flights to countrywide destinations.The airline introduced many different flights mainly from Karachi, Pakistan to Quetta, Pakistan. The Governor of Balochistan said that the improvement of air links were also discussed in the ongoing talks between Pakistan and Iran and he offered the management of Shaheen Air to operate Quetta-Zahidan flights. Initially Shaheen Air International operated eight flights to Karachi-Quetta and Quetta-Lahore. The airline later decided to operate flights from Quetta to Islamabad.

On 22 May 2004, the Civil Aviation Authority stopped all flights of Shaheen Air as it owed millions of rupees in debt to the CAA. On May 25, 2004, Shaheen Air was cleared of charges by the CAA to resume its domestic and international operations. The clearance letter was issued by CAA following receipt of the payment from Shaheen Air International towards payment of the outstanding dues and funds.

Today, Shaheen Air has about twenty aircraft and is one of the fastest growing airlines in Pakistan. It is Pakistan's second national carrier next to the flag carrier, PIA.In its international operations, Shaheen Air also operates between Pakistan and numerous destinations in the Middle East. Shaheen Air has started flight operations to Riyadh with three different routes from Pakistan.[2] Shaheen Air is now operating flights also for Dammam.

Shaheen Air started its own maintenance repair organization (MRO) by the name of Shaheen Engineering and Aircraft Maintenance Services (SEAMS) which aims to provide maintenance services to Shaheen Air as well as other regional and international airlines.

The word "Shaheen" means "Falcon" in Urdu.

Services

A Shaheen Air Airbus A330-300.

Shaheen Air operates Boeing 737-400, Airbus A320-200 in all Economy class and Airbus A330-300 in Business and Economy class layout.

Cargo operations

Shaheen Air Cargo is a division of Shaheen Air International that was established in 1993, soon after the inception of the airline. Shaheen Air provides special services for sending small consignments which are time sensitive in nature. Other services include: Perishable Cargo, Live Animals, Valuable Cargo, Special Cargo as well as Courier Services.[3]

Destinations

Shaheen Air is majorly operating in the domestic and Gulf Region. where as Shaheen Air is the only private Airline from Pakistan that flies to China with non-stop flights from Lahore to Guangzhou. Several other sectors are also announced that may include Manchester, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Istanbul.

A former Shaheen Air Boeing 737-200.

Fleet

As of July 2015 the Shaheen Air fleet consists of the following aircraft:[4] The average age of Shaheen Air fleet is 18.6 years and for the Boeing aircraft it is 22.8 years.[5] These are some of the highest in the aviation industry.

Total: 21 + 06 on Order

    Previously operated

    Shaheen operated these aircraft in the past.[6]

    References

    1. ↑ "Contact Us > Domestic." Shaheen Air. Retrieved on 28 July 2010. "Head Office Shaheen Air International Terminal-1 Road, Jinnah International Airport, Karachi-75200, Pakistan"
    2. ↑ "Shaheen Air flights for Riyadh - Anna Aero" Shaheen Air inaugurates operations in Riyadh with three routes from Pakistan
    3. ↑ Shaheen Air Cargo services Accessed 2009-12-31
    4. ↑ "Shaheen Air Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
    5. ↑ https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Shaheen-Air
    6. ↑ Shaheen Air historic fleet
    7. ↑ Shaheen Air 737=800 fleet information
    8. ↑ Shaheen Air fleet 767 information
    9. ↑ Shaheen Air Yak 42 information

    External links

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