flydubai, the Dubai-based low-cost airline, has announced today the launch of four destinations in Saudi Arabia. This includes the start of flights to Neom from 16 March, Najran from 18 March, Al Qaisumah from 21 March and Jizan from 26 April.
Earlier this year, the airline also resumed its operations to AlUla with a twice-weekly service from 12 January.
Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai, said: “flydubai remains committed to opening up underserved markets and so we are pleased to offer our customers more options for travel with the launch of these four destinations.”
“As Saudi Arabia continues on its path of economic growth and investment in developing its tourism sector, we look forward to offering passengers from the UAE and around our network the opportunity to explore more of the country.”
About flydubai
flydubai currently operates flights to more than 114 destinations, 75 of which were underserved markets that did not previously have direct air links to Dubai. The growing network is served by a fleet of 76 Boeing 737 aircraft.
Since its inception in 2009, the airline has created a network of 114 destinations in 50 countries across Africa, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Central and South-East Europe, the GCC and the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent.
Notable in the Saudi carrier’s network plan is the opening of more than 75 new routes that did not previously have direct air links to Dubai, or were not served by a UAE national carrier from Dubai.
Characteristic of the low-cost airline model, flydubai operates a modern single fleet type.
Its current fleet of 76 Boeing 737 aircraft comprises: 30 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800, 43 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 3 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
2022 operational performance
The Dubai-based low-cost carrier recently published its operational performance data for 2022, showing a record year, with an outstanding full year profit of AED 1.2 billion.
Network growth
In 2022, flydubai launched 16 routes and ended the year with a network of 114; reaffirming its commitment to strengthening direct airlinks from underserved markets in the region with Dubai.
flydubai carried 10.6 million passengers across its network; an increase of 89% compared to 2021.
The airline continued to see increased demand on its popular seasonal summer routes: Batumi (BUS), Bodrum (BJV), Dubrovnik (DBV), Izmir (ADB), Mykonos (JMK), Santorini (JTR), Tivat (TIV) and Trabzon (TZX).
flydubai saw an increase in demand for connecting traffic, with 46% of passengers connecting to the flydubai network or through its codeshare with Emirates; compared to 34% in 2021.
Fleet size
Last year, flydubai took delivery of 17 new aircraft, a record number of deliveries received in one year in the history of the airline.
Growing its fleet by 25% compared to the previous year, the airline ended 2022 with 74 aircraft: 32 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800, 39 Boeing 737 MAX 8, and 3 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
Two Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft were returned to the lessors at the end of their operating lease.
