Flydubai wants more slots to expand operations in India

Dubai-based low-cost airline Flydubai can expand its coverage in India if more slots are available.

All the available slots for flights between Dubai and India have been filled with Emirates taking the lion’s share followed by others, including Air India and Flydubai.

“Give us as many slots as possible. With a billion people and growing middle income group, India is a bullish market,” said Kenneth Gile, Chief Operating Officer, Flydubai.

In April, Flydubai commenced its service to Chennai from Dubai, adding it to a network covering Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.

“We have been frequently requesting our government to take up the issue with Indian government. New slots will be announced only if the two governments speak,” he told BusinessLine .

Media persons were at the Boeing facility in Seattle to preview the 49th aircraft to be delivered to Flydubai in July.

Bilateral pact In February 2014, India and Dubai agreed to liberalise bilateral air services agreement increasing the then 55,000 weekly seat entitlements for each side by around 20 per cent on a staged basis over the next 13 months, said CAPA India, an aviation advisory and research organisation.

For Flydubai, it is important to expand into India to serve the large number of Indians working in the Gulf region and the increasing number of both business and leisure visitors to Dubai, Gile said.

The six-year-old airline, established by the Dubai government, operates only Boeing aircraft. It has 48 new Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft covering over 90 destinations with Dubai’s terminal 2 as the base.

The airline started with the first phase order of 50 aircraft that will be completed soon. The 50th aircraft will be delivered by September, Gile said.

More planes The airline will spend another $11.4 billion to procure Boeing’s next generation 737 Max aircraft, he said.

“On-time efficiency and focus on high value customers are key reasons for our success. We have made profit from the second year and have sustained this throughout. With our fast expanding network and operational efficiency, we feel, we can sustain the profitability going forward,” he said.

Deliveries of the first Boeing 737 MAX to Flydubai will commence in the second half of 2017 and continue until the end of 2023, Gile said.

(The writer is in Seattle at the invitation of Flydubai).

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