Dubai’s new low-cost carrier, which announced a $4bn order for 54 Boeing 737 aircraft at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK on 14 July, will announce its launch network later this year.

The airline plans to begin flights in early summer 2009.

“We will be looking at Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, the former Soviet Union, and the GCC states are very important to building your product,” says Ghaith al-Ghaith, the airline’s chief executive officer.

Al-Ghaith confirms that the recruitment of a new management team has begun, and he expects to have them in place in the coming weeks.

The chief executive was previously director of commercial operations at Emirates Airline, and has been advised by a team from the Dubai-based carrier until now.

The Boeing deal was largely brokered by the Emirates procurement team.

“We have had a team of people from Emirates advising on setting up the airline from A to Z. [Once the management team is in place] that group will take over the process started by Emirates,” he says.

“We will have 90 per cent of the core team in place by the autumn season.”