Dubai no-frills carrier upbeat about market prospects

“Our region is highly underserved,” Flydubai chief executive officer Ghaith al-Ghaith said, speaking on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel market in Dubai.

“I don’t think there are enough flights to the places that people want to travel to, or access is complicated and very expensive,” he said.

Flydubai marks its first anniversary in June, a year after joining a relatively young Middle East budget travel sector.

“There is no doubt about” the market for all low-cost carriers in the region,” said Ghaith.

Passenger demand for Middle East carriers grew by more than 25 percent in March, according to the International Air Transport Association.

“Whatever Flydubai has achieved so far, and the success that we have seen, gives us lots of confidence that there is plenty of potential there for us,” he said.

Ghaith was confident that his airline, which currently flies to 13 destinations, would reach profitability in a couple of years.

“For an airline the size of ours and our plans, I think it will be good to make profit within two to three years of the start. We are confident that we’ll be able to do that,” he said.

He insisted, however, that Flydubai was not subsidised by the government of Dubai. It had no problems raising finance to purchase planes, he said.

“The only issue with financing is that at the beginning, we had 20 to 30 banks, while at a certain time, they (became)... fewer,” he said a reference to the credit crunch, which hit after the airline was launched in March 2008, and before it made its maiden flight on June 1, 2009.

“Now, the appetite for indulging airlines has increased,” Ghaith added.

“We started on time... We had more aircraft than we originally thought we would have in the first year, and we are carrying through with our plans,” he added.

“It is a good time to start an airline, because if you can make it at this time, you can make it at any time.”

“If we can make our country more accessible, more people will travel,” Ghaith said, speaking of Flydubai’s contribution to tourism revenues.

Dubai is also home to nearly two million people, mostly expatriates from countries within a few hours’ flight, which can easily be served by budget carriers. Flydubai thrives on the frequent commuting of such expatriates.

“Having a product like Flydubai will have people travel to our country easier and cheaper, so we’ll be more successful,” Ghaith said.

Flydubai placed a four-billion-dollar order for 50 single-aisle Boeing 737 planes at the Farnborough Air Show in England in 2008 and now operates a fleet of seven aircraft.

It expects to have 13 jets by the end of 2010 and to take delivery of seven to eight planes every year thereafter, Ghaith said.

The expanded fleet will help it to increase the number of destinations it serves to 18 by June. When asked about targets for route expansion next year, Ghaith answered: “Maybe another 18, why not?”