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Flydubai network to reach 100 destinations next year

Dubai-based airline to get 50th Boeing 737 delivery in October this year.

Seattle: Flydubai will get the 50th Boeing 737 delivery in October this year and expand the network to 100 destinations next year, its chief operating officer Captain Kenneth Gile told Khaleej Times during an interview.

Since launching its operations in 2009, the Dubai-based low-cost airline has created a network of more than 90 destinations, with 23 new routes launched in 2014. The airline opened up 59 new routes that did not previously have direct air links to Dubai or were not served by a UAE national carrier from Dubai.

The carrier will also get additional 11 Boeing 737s deliveries in the next two years, Gile said during a flight to Seattle. “The airline will reach 100 destinations in the next 12 to 18 months,” he said.

So far, the airline has received five Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft in 2015 and its fleet size reached 48 aircraft. In the second half of the year the carrier will get the remaining two Boeing 737s from its 2008 order of 50 aircraft worth $4 billion at list prices.

“We have 48 aircraft now and will get one delivery in July and another in September,” Gile said.

Placing its initial order for 50 Boeing 737-800s back in the summer of 2008 was seen as a huge gamble for flydubai due to high oil prices and the plethora of airlines that were collapsing under the strain, according to a senior aviation analyst.

“From the GCC to Africa, from Russia to the foothills of Europe, flydubai has a huge edge over its rivals with the 737-800 in many ways. Not only is the 737-800 lighter than the competing A320 which helps cut fuel burn, it also carries more passengers and has far greater range,” London-based StrategicAero Research chief analyst Saj Ahmad told this scribe.

This is why flydubai was the first low-cost airline to introduce a hybrid business class product into its offerings and tap into high yield passengers and open up a market that virtually every low cost airline in the world had ignored, according to Ahmad.

“The competitive advantage that flydubai enjoys as the GCCs biggest 737 customer cannot be underestimated. The 737 has become the backbone of flydubai’s operation and has fundamentally driven down costs far faster than its regional rivals that operate the competing A320 fleet,” he said.

The 737-800 is the best airplane as it enjoys higher lease rates, higher residual values and is a prized and highly sought after airplane for sale and leaseback transactions.

It’s easy to see why the 737 works so well for flydubai and its future strength that 737 Max 8 will provide is just the start of things for flydubai’s future.

The UAE aviation sector will continue to sustain upward trends in terms of opening of more routes and increase in frequencies with the induction of more than 50 planes during 2015, according to industry sources.

Dubai-based airlines — Emirates and flydubai — will lead the table with the possible deliveries of 33 aircraft worth around $10.5 billion at list prices.

abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com