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2 Boeing Commercial Airplanes and CEO Stanley Deal , GE ’ s Chairman and CEO Henry Lawrence Culp , Jr ., the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority President , CEO and founder of the Emirates Group , and chairman of Dubai World and Flydubai , His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum signing the Emirates order for additional Boeing widebodies under the eye of the crown prince of Dubai , His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum . // PHOTO : SIMONE CHELLINI
3 Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith and Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stanley A . Deal celebrate the new Boeing 787-9 acquisition . // PHOTO : SIMONE CHELLINI
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After the announcement , Airways talked with Ghaith al Ghaith about Flydubai ’ s future in an exclusive interview .
Born in 1963 , Ghaith Al Ghaith began his career with Emirates in 1986 . In 2008 , after spending 23 years with the airline and rising to Executive Vice-President of Commercial Operations Worldwide , he was appointed by the Government of Dubai to lead then brand-new Flydubai . Under his leadership , the airline recorded the fastestever growth rate for a start-up airline . Today , Flydubai serves 54 countries within a sevenhour flight radius and has reached the milestone of 100 million passengers carried in its history .
BOEING 787-9 ORDER
The Boeing 787 represents Flydubai ’ s fourth aircraft order and the first-ever long-range one . While long-haul seems to be Flydubai ’ s most logical use for the 787 , the airline will initially focus on optimizing its current
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network by employing the aircraft to popular routes served from its Dubai hub . Al Ghaith said that employing the type on high-density destinations such as Kuwait City or Doha would benefit the airline by reducing the number of slots used in Dubai and enabling the crew to become familiar with the aircraft .
Expansion to further markets will follow . Other airlines currently use the 787-9 on some of the world ’ s longest routes , such as Perth to London Heathrow , Rome Fiumicino , and , soon , Paris Charles de Gaulle . Maximizing
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the aircraft ’ s range may mean reducing the number of seats or increasing the premium offer on board . However , given its business model , Flydubai is unlikely to do so . The 787 would comfortably serve most airports on the US East Coast as well as the entire African and European continents in a two-class configuration . It is interesting to note that , in 2023 , Flydubai signed codeshare agreements with Air Canada ( AC ) and United Airlines ( UA ). The 787-9 could well reach these airlines ’ respective hubs in Toronto Pearson International Airport |
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