LONDON – The Dubai-based premium low-cost airline expects passenger levels to cross the three million mark across the board this summer season.
FlyDubai expects this year to be a very busy season, with a growth of 43% in ASKM (Available Seat per Mile) from July to September, when compared to the pre-Covid base year of 43%.
The airline also expects this summer to be a record-breaking summer. Before this summer FlyDubai also recorded a strong 1st Quarter due to a surge in travel demand.
This summer will be an impressive season, with an expected 3 million passengers, which is the busiest recorded in the airline’s history.
The airline is expecting to average 8,500 departures per month for this summer period, across 102 destinations. This is impressive as this exceeds the baseline of 2019.
Chief Executive Officer at Flydubai, Ghaith Al Ghaith, said: “While the global aviation sector has been slowly recovering from the repercussions of the pandemic, we have seen Dubai steadfast in its approach to enable the return to free flows of trade and tourism.”
“The decisions made early on in the pandemic have enabled us to ramp up our operations to cater to the pent-up demand in record time. This would not have been possible without the hard work of our people, the collaborative approach taken by the key stakeholders in the UAE and the confidence our passengers have in our operations.”
The airline CEO also added: “Our agility and preparedness, strong business model and the scheduled aircraft deliveries this year, will see that we are well placed to overcome the challenges through which we as an industry continue to navigate.”
“We look forward to an exceptional summer of connecting people, opening up underserved markets and providing our customers with more options.”
Returning to its base
FlyDubai will be finally returning to its home base at Dubai International Airport (DXB) from operating Dubai World Central (DWC) as of the 23rd of June.
The reason behind this is that Dubai Airport has completed its 45-day period of northern runway restoration from the 9th of May to and 22th of June.
The airline resorted to operating from two bases at DWC and DXB to lessen the impact of the runway work.
Expansion of route network
FlyDubai will expand its footprint even more as if COVID-19 never existed. Earlier, FlyDubai ventured deeper into Saudi Arabia by opening Abha.
It will also reinstate flights to Batumi in Georgia, Bodrum, Izmir and Trabzon in Turkey, and Catania and Pisa in Italy, Dubrovnik in Croatia, Mykonos and Santorini in Greece and Tivat in Montenegro.
Moreover, to also aid the existing demand, the airline will also increase its flight frequencies to respective destinations: Baku, Belgrade, Budapest, Ljubljana, Maldives, Prague, Salzburg, Sarajevo, Tbilisi and Zanzibar.
Growing workhorse(s)
The airline will also welcome four new 737s by August of this year, which means that the total fleet of the Boeing narrow fleet family to 68.
The airline has also taken on new staff which includes pilots, flight attendants and other professionals.
