Dreamliner order flydubai fueled by need to keep growing

The decision of flydubai to order 30 Boeing 787-9s widebodies has been instigated by the need to do something new to keep growing. That’s what CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said on Wednesday in an interview with AirInsight at the Dubai Airshow. Flydubai announced the Dreamliner order on Monday, the first day of the airshow. The airline’s Chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, said the 787 deal was motivated by the changing market and customer needs. First deliveries are due in 2026 and run through 2035. “By the time we receive our first 787, we will be almost 18 years old. We kind of will be coming of age. Our Highness Sheikh Mohammed always tells us that if you stand still, people will pass you. This is exactly what we are doing at flydubai: we are not standing still, we want to grow, and we want to expand. We are honored by the trust placed in us by the Royal Highnesses and Sheikh Ahmed to expand,” Ghaith Al Ghaith said. “We are very confident that there is scope for growth in the whole region and most importantly in the United Arab Emirates and Dubai. If you look at the composition of the travelers 20 years ago, it has changed. We live in a place that is so blessed and diversified that the business has changed. The demography is growing. It is the same in the region. All of that gives us the confidence that the future will require us to expand, grow, and diversify.” Growing the network Adding Boeing 787-9s to the fleet will allow flydubai to significantly expand the network, thanks to the 7.565nm/14.101km range of the aircraft. The network is currently dictated by the maximum range of its MAX 8 narrowbodies, which is 3.500nm/6.480km. The airline said on Monday that the Dreamliners will also offer more capacity, but flying further is one of the key targets behind the widebody deal. “For sure, we would go to further places and bigger markets. But we will also use it to grow our current network, but it opens up the horizon for the company. It is almost like we are born anew. We are very excited to take on that challenge.” Flydubai could have opted to grow by ordering the MAX 10 but instead selected the 787. “The -10 we could still have. We have options. But when you compare the -10 to what the 787 can do, it is in a totally different ballgame. (…) For us, the 787-9 is the right aircraft. With its efficiency, it is an extremely good aircraft. We could have chosen the 787-8 and then moved on to the -9, but the -9 was always our best option. So we decided to go for the -9.” flydubai signed a services agreement with CFM for 222 LEAP-1B engines. (Richard Schuurman) Ghaith Al Ghaith denied reports that flydubai is inheriting the 30 787-9s that were originally ordered by Emirates in 2019 and which have now been converted into -8s and -10s by its bigger sister. Neither does flydubai take the delivery slots of Emirates. “I think their delivery slots started in 2023. It is not how Boeing manages slots. This is a deal purely worked out for flydubai and our own plans and challenges.” Flydubai hasn’t selected the engines for the Dreamliners and can opt for either the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 or the General Electric GEnx. “We are looking at both engines. We will take what we think is the best for us. With GE, we have of course a relationship through CFM for a long time. Rolls-Royce has a very good name in this part of the world.” Cabin options While often referred to as a low-cost airline, flydubai offers a mixed product with cheap Economy Class seats up to affordable Business Class seats. It will introduce enclosed Business Class suites on the MAX at the end of this year or early next year. Asked what flydubai will offer on the 787 and if this could include Premium Economy as well, Ghaith Al Ghaith says: “Part of our essence, since we started, is that we always have tried to bring things that the customer and the market needs. What you mention is possible, based on the requirement of getting a bigger scope of passengers. When we are ready to announce it, you will see very exciting products.” The CEO was unwilling to share details of the future network with the 787s. “Of course, we have a business case for where we want to go, but we will answer this at the right time. We want the idea of flydubai flying 787s to sink in first.” New MRO facility in Dubai South Flydubai made a few other important announcements during the Dubai Airshow. On Wednesday it signed an agreement with Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai South to build a new MRO facility in Dubai South. This is the area around Al Maktoum International Airport, which already sees a growing number of maintenance facilities. Flydubai will invest $190 million in the new complex, which should be ready in the last quarter of 2026. This comes one day after Emirates announced that it would build a new MRO facility worth $950 million. “Emirates is building a facility that fits their aircraft, we are building a facility that fits our aircraft. We will have 787s, they will have 787s one day. For a hundred percent, there will be collaboration, but exactly when and where is to be decided.” flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith (left) and Khalifa Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Dubai South, sign the agreement for the new MRO facility in Dubai South. (flydubai) The investment in Dubai World Central/Al Maktoum means a sort of return of flydubai to the airport, which is an hour by car from downtown Dubai. Before the pandemic, flydubai operated out of Al Maktoum and from Dubai International or DXB. It suspended services out of Al Maktoum during the Covid years but resumed flights from there to Doha for the World Soccer Championship in November/December 2022. “As far as we are concerned, we are committed to operating to both airports. We don’t operate from here now, but will soon. We will operate from DXB until the airport is forever unavailable.” Indeed, once a huge new airport at DWC/Al Maktoum opens, the plans are to close DXB and use the land for other purposes. The airline announced on Tuesday that it has started construction works for a new Full-light Simulator and Training Facility at its campus for completion in 2025. The airline will invest $56 million in the complex, which will offer space for six simulator bays. Four of them will get CAE Boeing MAX simulators while the other two can accommodate either MAX or 787 simulators. This will be decided later. CFM services agreement Another announcement was for a services agreement for CFM LEAP-1B engines on 111 MAX aircraft, so in total 222 engines. The long-term contract covers aircraft already in service as well as the 130 on order. CFM said in June that the LEAP-1B is susceptible to higher wear in hot and dusty environments like those in the Gulf region and is working on a solution with improved parts. Ghaith Al Ghaith didn’t confirm that flydubai is affected by these durability issues. “We have a very strong relationship with CFM. These engines are manufactured based on certain assumptions and then developed until they reach maturity. This is normal. I can go on record that the relationship we have with CFM and Safran and the support they give us is second to none to any of our suppliers. They do a fantastic job, they never let us down.”

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