Taking flight

The rise and rise of low-cost flying.

Any frequent traveler knows that all too frequently, you don't get anywhere near what you pay for with air travel. The popularity of low-cost carriers like EasyJet and Ryanair in Europe and JetBlue in the United States is therefore easy to understand - many consumers will happily trade already-decreasing amenities and services for lower ticket prices on short, simple flights.

So it was to great fanfare that flydubai - a low-cost airline designed to cater to a region brimming with expats - was founded in March 2008. Begun at a cost of Dh250 million, it is completely owned by the Government of Dubai and operates out of Dubai International Airport between various cities in the Middle East and Africa. Though not part of the Emirates Group, flydubai was founded by Emirates Chairman Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, and is led by Ghaith al Ghaith, a former Emirates executive.

According to him, it had long been the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, to have a low cost carrier headquartered in Dubai. He recognised the need for Dubai to have its own low cost airline to serve the largely expat population in the region and to ensure more people would be able to travel to more destinations more often. The capacity constraints at Dubai International Airport made the establishment of another airline in Dubai impossible before now. However, with the recent opening of Terminal 3 and the expansion of Terminal 2, these constraints were no longer a barrier to Dubai having its own low cost airline and flydubai took flight in spring 2008.

Two years into the running of the fledgling company, and Ghaith is pleased with the success of the airline thus far. "We only started commercial operations with flights to Beirut on June 1 last year," he explains. "Since then we have begun flights to a further 10 locations, bringing our total now to 11 operational destinations. We recently announced Kuwait City and Muscat as our next double daily routes with flights starting in March."

To help meet rising demand for services, the airline recently took delivery of seven 737-800NG aircraft on schedule from Boeing, including the first Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft equipped with Goodrich Corporation Duracarb carbon brakes. In July and November last year, it signed aircraft financing, maintenance and logistics deals worth around US$520 million. And it also moved into a new headquarters building on the North side of Dubai International Airport, near to Terminal 2.  "We are more than pleased with the success of flydubai to date," says Ghaith. "Flydubai brings a fresh approach to travel and has its own unique business model. It was not modelled on any other airline, although we have tried to take the best of other airlines from around the world and adapt them to the market in this region. The flydubai model aims to make travel a little less complex, a little less stressful and a little less expensive for travellers. We've kept these basic principles in mind when conceptualising our business model. And, going by the enormous number of passengers that continue to travel with flydubai, I think we've successfully achieved what we set out to do."

The original order for 50 Boeing 737s at the Farnborough airshow was valued at approximately $4 billion and marks the biggest single order by a Gulf-based low cost carrier for the aircraft. The reason for making such a large order at once was twofold: "First, to assure the best price possible for the fleet and second, because only once we have our fleet in place can we move forward and make decisions on the route network, staff appointments, etc." says Ghaith.

Flydubai currently serves and will continue to launch a mix of destinations that are commercially popular as well as those that are currently underserved by direct flights from Dubai. "Our aim is to expand the region's low cost air travel sector by making travel more affordable and accessible for everyone," explains Ghaith. "I think all the destinations we currently fly to and will fly to in the future have great potential, especially since Dubai is a country dominated by a strong expatriate population. With flydubai, travellers now have the option to travel more often - be it for business, leisure or to visit friends and family back home."

In terms of geographical reach, flydubai will serve those countries that are within a five-hour flight radius of Dubai. This takes in a population of 2.5 billion people and gives flydubai access to one third of the world's population. "It is important to us to expand our network quickly to give our passengers the widest possible range of destinations to fly to. But some of our routes are proving to be so popular that we need to add extra capacity to some existing routes to keep up with the demand."

And even though it has only been 10 months since the airline started commercial operations, it is expanding rapidly. "We are proud of our achievements and have been on track with our plans; to be honest, I am overwhelmed by the great response we have received," says Ghaith. "Like any business, our rapid expansion has meant we've had a very steep learning curve, however, we've met these challenges well and are in a strong position this year. Also, as flydubai continues to expand, another one of our challenges will be to continue to attract and recruit the right number and calibre of staff to ensure we can continue to offer our customers the excellent levels of service that we have started with."

There is plenty to look forward to in the future, too. "We have not even completed a year of operations yet and have already achieved more than we set out to do. I am excited about everything we do. I'm looking forward to flydubai evolving as a company and helping to expand the region's low cost travel sector even further."