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flydubai takes delivery of first EX-IM Bank financed aircraft

Flydubai, Dubai’s innovative low-cost airline, has taken delivery of the first of three Boeing 737-800NG aircraft financed through a $117.5 million loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of the US (Ex-Im Bank).

Its arrival takes flydubai’s fleet size to 26 aircraft in operation. The next two aircraft will arrive in November and December, meaning by the end of 2012, the airline will have 28 aircraft.

This year, the airline has significantly expanded its network with the addition of six new routes to date (Bucharest, Sana’a, Basra, Najaf, Bishkek and Taif) and a further two to follow: Skopje, the capital of Macedonia is scheduled to launch on October 18 and Tabuk, Saudi Arabia on November 7.

In addition to these new routes, there has been a 41 per cent increase in the number of flights across the network between August 2011 and August of this year, the airline said.

flydubai’s CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said: “This landmark agreement with Ex-Im Bank is further proof of flydubai’s continued achievements. In our short history we have already achieved a great deal but what is truly exciting for us is that we have only just begun.

“Dubai’s reputation is firmly established on the world stage as a popular tourist destination, a financial centre and a trade and logistics hub. Its visionary decision to invest in becoming a leading global aviation hub and the fact that there is a population of over 2.5 billion within our geographic reach is a scenario that creates tremendous opportunity for us as an airline and we intend to fully capitalize on this,” he added.