Route Analysis: Kyiv-Sharjah

Ukrainian startup Bees Airline is launching a new route to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October—one of three new international services joining the airline’s network.

The carrier, which began commercial operations in March, will begin operating scheduled service between Kyiv Zhulyany (IEV) and Sharjah (SHJ) from Oct. 20. Flights will be twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays using Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

The route will become the airline’s first to the UAE and provide indirect competition for Air Arabia, which serves Kyiv Borispol (KBP) from Sharjah daily using Airbus A320s.

In addition, Ukraine International Airlines also flies 1X-weekly from Kyiv Borispol to Dubai (DXB) and Ras al Khaimah (RKT), while Wizz Air Abu Dhabi offers two flights per week between KBP and Abu Dhabi (AUH).

Flydubai and SkyUp Airlines also serve KBP-DXB, flying 9X-weekly and 4X-weekly respectively. OAG data shows that flydubai will increase service to 2X-daily and SkyUp to 5X-weekly during the week commencing Oct. 4.

In total, there are currently 8,800 two-way seats on offer between Kyiv and destinations in the UAE. However, by early November there will be about 13,800 once Bees Airline enters the market and flydubai and SkyUp expand their operations.

During early November 2019, there were 9,800 two-way seats available as Air Arabia served KBP-SHJ daily, flydubai served KBP-DXB 2X-daily, and Ukraine International served KBP-DXB 1X-daily.

As well as starting the Sharjah route, Bees Airline has also confirmed plans to add flights from Odesa (ODS) to Ganja (GNJ) in Azerbaijan and Tbilisi (TBS), the capital of Georgia.

IEV-SHJ

Carrier:

Bees Airline

Aircraft:

Boeing 737-800

Frequency:

2X-weekly

Start date:

Oct. 20, 2021

Distance:

3,532 km

O&D traffic demand (2019):

31,593

Annual growth:

18.5%

Average base fare (2019):

$74.14

Photo credit: Kyiv Zhulyany

David Casey

David Casey is Editor in Chief of Routes, the global route development community's trusted source for news and information.