Flydubai eyes expansions in Saudi, CIS markets

The United Arab Emirates-based budget carrier Flydubai is looking to increase frequencies and routes in Saudi Arabia as well as in the GCC and CIS markets, the airline’s chief commercial officer Hamad Obaidalla told Argaam.

“Saudi Arabia is a very important market for Flydubai. We continue to look for opportunities to better serve the Saudi market, whether by adding extra frequencies or launching new routes subject to the bilateral agreements,” Obaidalla said.

“Abha, Gassim and Yanbu are good examples of how direct flights help stimulate an underserved market, with thousands of passengers travelling to/from these points on Flydubai,” he added.

Saudi Arabia is aiming to boost its tourism industry in line with its National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020, as it looks to diversify away from oil. Under the reforms, the tourism sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will be raised to 3.1 percent from the current 2.9 percent.

The kingdom also seeks to raise the number of annual Hajj pilgrims from 1.5 million to 2.5 million, while increasing the number of Umrah visitors from seven million to 15 million per year.

Apart from Saudi Arabia, Flydubai is also eyeing new opportunities in the CIS countries, Obaidalla said.

“We have witnessed a noticeable increase in passenger numbers to the emerging markets in CIS in the past few years in parallel with growth recorded year-on-year in those growing economies,” he said.

Flydubai currently operates to six destinations in the CIS and looking to add more destinations and increase frequencies, he added.

However he said the business environment in Russia – an important market for the airline – continues to remain challenging.

Russia’s economy has been impacted by a plunge in the value of the rouble, leading to a substantial drop in the number of tourists visiting the UAE last year.

Meanwhile, amidst sluggish global economic conditions and a stronger dollar in 2015, Flydubai reported a 60 percent slump in net profits for the year.

When asked about the outlook for 2016, Obaidalla said the airline’s network is maturing and it continues to review opportunities for existing and new routes. 

Write to Jerusha Sequeira at jerusha.s@argaamnews.com