‘All-women’ airlines all set to take-off

RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business

Taxis, fashion brands and now airlines – you cannot get enough of this young nation when it comes to women. From earning global recognition for respecting women to having a higher number of female university graduates than their male counterparts, UAE has shown the world that it is more than committed to raising the status of the fairer sex.
Not long ago, reports about an all-women airline starting from the UAE took the world by storm. The idea was applauded as one of its kind effort and Emirates again made its mark as a fertile ground for unconventional business ideas.
After a few months of research and working out of logistics, the Sharjah Free Zone-based LGO International LLC has confirmed that the all-women airline is now ready to fly.
“It has been around eight months of hard work at our end and now we can proudly say that we will soon be flying,” Emmanuel Dubuisson, CEO and founder of the company told Emirates Business in an exclusive interview. LGO International plans an end-to-end service for the females of the region, thereby aiming to create the first all-women carrier in the world. There are ambitious plans for a global expansion on the cards too.
“The idea was, that, if there can be an all women taxi service, if there can be all women fashion labels – then why not make women able to air-travel in an aircraft specifically designed and serviced solely for them,” Dubuisson pointed out.
The UAE-based airline plans to employ women in all aspects of operations, from designing interiors of the aircraft to offering on-board services. Dubuisson stated that there will be options like a shower and bathrooms fitted with a big mirror to assist any make-up touch ups ladies might need while on board. Also, there will be a king-size cinema and a reading room.
“We want to make sure nothing is left out. It will be a charter service that would cater to the discerning demands of those upscale clients for whom sky is the limit while it comes to spend on luxury and privacy,” he added.
In addition to this, the company is working towards creating a fleet of all-women pilots. “Initially it might take us some time, but in years to come we plan to tie up with international training schools to have more female pilots on board,” he said. Dubuisson, who hails from Geneva, says there could not have been a better country than UAE to start with this innovative venture.
“There was no reason to think of any other country. I came here to visit a few of my friends and saw that if something as exceptional as an all-women airline has to grow, there cannot be a better nation. Such support I have witnessed here from the leaders and various government authorities that I am sure I would not have found anywhere else.”
“Additionally, people in UAE have an inclination towards all that is exclusive. And the fact that women have high spending power acts just like an icing on the cake,” he said.