Air Arabia, has announced confirming options for five additional Airbus A320 aircraft.

The delivery of the original contract covering 44 firm orders and 5 options will be completed in 2017. The five new Airbus A320 aircraft will be put into service in the second quarter 2017 and have a book value of USD485 million.

These new aircraft will join Air Arabia’s fleet of 46 Airbus A320 aircraft currently serving over 120 routes from five operational hubs.

“Air Arabia’s fleet innovation sits at the heart of the airline operational efficiency” says Adel Al Ali, Group CEO, Air Arabia. “Today, we operate one of the youngest fleets in the world and this approach will continue to drive our fleet growth strategy for the future.”

For the past five years, Air Arabia has achieved the highest level of A320 aircraft utilisation in the world with 99.8 per cent operational reliability, according to Airbus.

In 2010, the carrier set a new world record achieving 30,000 flight hours in just six years with one of its CFM56-5B-powered A320 aircraft.