UAE: Flydubai Operate In Both Dubai International And Al Maktoum Airports

Flydubai says it will operate from both Dubai International, Al Maktoum Airport.

Budget carrier flydubai confirmed on Monday it will not be moving its operations out of Dubai International Airport and into Al Maktoum Airport, and that it will expand its operations in both airports.

We already have operations in Al Maktoum, and we will grow our operations in Al Maktoum and we will operate in both airports.

The word is not move, it’s expanding in both airports, said Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer of flydubai.

Flydubai currently operates out of both airports, with its hub at Dubai International, the busiest airport in the world in terms of international passenger traffic.

Dubai has been working to expand the city’s second airport, Al Maktoum International to absorb expected growth in visitors to Dubai.

Al Ghaith also discussed the carrier’s expansion plans as well as challenges in the operating environment.
The CEO said he saw lots of opportunities in Europe, especially in east and southern Europe.

On Sunday, flydubai announced it will launch direct flights to Helsinki from October 2018.

The launch will make flydubai the first UAE-based carrier to offer year-round services between Dubai and the Finnish capital.

Al Ghaith said flydubai will be launching flights to other routes with a similar DNA to Helsinki.

He said these routes, which are now more viable given flydubai’s partnership with Emirates Airline, will be in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

In July 2017, Emirates and flydubai announced a partnership agreement that include code-sharing and schedule alignment.

On Monday, Emirates and flydubai released passenger numbers for the first six months of their partnership that was announced in July 2017.

The first code-share flights started in October 2017, and in the six months since then, over 400,000 passengers have taken advantage of the partnership.

The two airlines currently code-share on more than 90 destinations, with more routes expected in the coming months including Catania, Thessaloniki, and Helsinki.

Al Ghaith said the next phase of the deal will be to add more destinations, and said the partnership has enhanced revenues for flydubai as it attracts more passengers.

With its partnership, flydubai is now on an expansion drive for the long-term.

At the Dubai Air Show in November, the carrier announced a $27-billion-order for 225 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, a deal that will more than triple its fleet of around 60 aircraft.

While Al Ghaith did not provide details on how the carrier plans to finance that purchase, he confirmed that flydubai will not be tapping financial markets through a bond issuance to raise capital.

He said, however, that the company is looking at all available instruments, including its own resources, bank loans, and sell and leaseback deals.

Discussing the overall operating environment, the CEO cited fuel prices as a key challenge.

The challenge this year will definitely be fuel prices, which have been definitely beyond what we expected.

I think everyone forecasted it would be in the $60-plus range.

Now, it’s $70-plus; it’s too high, he said.



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SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia Has Biggest Fleet Of Business Aircraft In Mideast

There are 188 private jets registered in Saudi Arabia – the largest fleet of any country in the Middle East
74.5% of these are medium, heavy or business jet airliners
Saudi Arabia has 23.7% of the region’s private jet fleet
48 of the 188 private jets registered in Saudi Arabia were delivered between 2010 and 2014

JEDDAH — New research from Gama Aviation plc, the global aviation services company, revealed that there are now 792 business aircraft in the Middle East, and between 2010 and 2014, 176 of these were delivered to the region.
The new report is issued as the five-day Dubai Air Show kicked off Sunday (Nov. 8).

Gama Aviation’s analysis showed that when compared to the rest of the world, the Middle East has a much bigger focus on mid to larger sized business aircraft. Some 59% of its fleet is classified as medium to heavy, and 11% as business jet airliners. The corresponding figures for the global fleet are 29.8% and 1%.

Saudi Arabia has the biggest fleet of business aircraft in the Middle East, with 188 (23.7% of the region’s total), followed by Turkey (157 and 18.5%) and the UAE (135 and 17%). These three countries also accounted for 71% of all business aircraft deliveries between 2010 and 2014.

Gama Aviation plc has been operating in the Middle East since 2006 and it sees strong growth potential for its business in the region. Last August 1, it announced that it will be expanding its operations at Sharjah International Airport in the UAE.

With the support of Sharjah Airport Authority, it has acquired additional aircraft parking space to meet the growing demand it is experiencing for business aviation (particularly BBJs) at the airport, and from across the region. As part of the agreement, Gama Aviation’s fixed base operation (FBO) and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) teams will also be personally supervising the business aircraft left in their care, ensuring clients receive the highest possible levels of service.

Martin Ringrose, Gama Aviation’s managing director for the Middle East region, said: “The Middle East business aviation market is rapidly developing and is one of our major focus areas, which is why we are expanding our operations at the Sharjah International Airport. We expect to see the number of business aircraft in the region – especially the larger ones, which we focus on – to increase and with our experience, global footprint and economies of scale, we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on this growth.”

To help further strengthen its proposition in the region, Gama Aviation has also conducted a review of the Sharjah FBO handling rates and, as a result, the basic handling prices were reduced by 20% in August. This ensures that the Sharjah FBO, just 30 minutes from Downtown Dubai is extremely competitive when compared to similar offerings in the region notably Dubai South (60+ minutes away from Downtown Dubai).

This reduction in costs is just one part of a global review of Gama Aviation’s contracts across all areas of its operations. Due to its increased size following its merger with Hangar8 plc in January this year, the company is able to make considerable costs savings and pass these on to the benefit of its customers.

Gama Aviation is exhibiting at the Dubai Air Show after its listing on the London Stock Exchange.