SNAPSHOT
fl ydubai celebrates 10th anniversary
The premium-come-low-cost carrier has flown more than 70 million passengers in the
last decade – and business is on the up with the support of codeshare partner EmiratesB
efore June 1 2009 – when ydubai’s rst ight took
o between Dubai and Beirut – passengers didn’t have
many home-grown options beyond Emirates.
But its arrival shi ed the dial in three key ways: it
brought low fares to Dubai residents, connected many
previously unserved destinations (across central Asia,
in particular) and helped fuel DXB’s overall passenger
growth. In the last decade, it has own more than 70 million
passengers to 90 destinations and 47 countries.
Four years into operations, it installed business class on its B737s,
appealing to passengers who wanted more than ‘no-frills’ services.
But as with any airline, it has wrestled with challenges. Chief
among them was the March 2016 tragedy when FZ981 crashed
during an aborted landing at Rostov-on-Don, with the loss of 62
passengers and crew.
More recently, the global grounding of the B737 MAX – designed
to spearhead future growth, with 225 orders placed in 2017 – is an
operational conundrum.
But the codeshare tie-up with Emirates has provided e ciencies
and security at times of rising fuel prices and pressurised yields, and
reduced route overlaps. Between January and December last year,
the two airlines jointly carried 3.29 million passengers across 84
destinations. is summer sees a burst of European expansion with
Budapest and Naples new to the network.