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Al Gaith, chief executive of FlyDubai, said the carrier was on track to launch in mid-2009.
Dubai's first low-cost carrier to take off soon
By Nadia Saleem, Staff Reporter
Published: February 16, 2009, 23:45
Dubai: FlyDubai, the city's first low-cost carrier, is set to launch within a few months despite delays in deliveries from its supplier Boeing due to the machinists' strike last September, top company officials said.
Gaith Al Gaith, chief executive of FlyDubai told Gulf News: "We are on track to launch in mid-2009."
The airline official said it would initially fly to destinations within a four to five hour radius of Dubai. Although specific destination have not been revealed yet, Al Gaith said: "We are currently looking at the Indian subcontinent."
FlyDubai will begin with flights in the GCC and surrounding countries.
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The company that was formed in March last year has placed orders for 54 Boeing 737 aircraft at a value of $4 billion (Dh14.69b) at list price, the largest order received by the manufacturer from a Gulf-based low cost carrier for the 737 model. The order comprises a firm order for 50 aircraft and a leasing agreement for four more with Babcock and Brown Aircraft Management.
The new initiative by the government of Dubai, has placed orders of engines worth $70 million at list price, from CFM International, a joint venture between Snecma and GE, during last summer's Farnborough International Airshow.
The airline also shelled out an additional $50 million for blended winglets (wing additions that cut fuel consumption and noise emission).
Although supported by the Emirates Group during the set-up time, the new airline will not be a part of the group. Details of the restructuring have not been revealed yet.
Launching at a time when the global aviation industry is predicted to face the highest annual loss of revenue in history the Gulf region might be in need of more low-cost carriers.
BNB
babcock & brown limited
