The carrier reported that its expansion plans are hindered by the extensive delays in Boeing’s aircraft delivery schedules
A flydubai 737 MAX 8 performing a test flight at Paine Field. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)
In a fresh press release just as the Farnborough Airshow opened its gates, flydubai commented on the extreme delays that are hindering its expansion plans.
The Dubai-based carrier operates a single-type fleet of 88 Boeing 737 aircraft including 29 Boeing 737-800s and 59 Boeing 737 MAXs split between MAX 8 and MAX 9 variants. With a backlog of 125 units, it is one of the manufacturer’s biggest clients for the type. This situation was already ongoing when flydubai decided to step in line with a large order for Boeing’s widebody workhorse, the 787 Dreamliner, back at the Dubai Airshow in 2023.
Boeing does not deliver in line with the expectations though. The press release mentions that the aircraft delivered so far in 2024 were ones delayed from the past years. The scheduled 14 units to be handed over this year are not coming at all, according to the latest delivery schedule revisions.
A flydubai Boeing 737 departs from Dubai International (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hisham Qadri)
Commenting on the ongoing delays, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said, “We are extremely disappointed to learn that Boeing will not be able to fulfil its commitment to deliver more aircraft for the remainder of the year. Boeing’s short-noticed and frequent delivery schedule revisions have hindered our strategic growth plans resulting in significant disruptions to our published schedules. The reduced capacity will ultimately affect our customers as well as our projected financial performance.”
Earlier this year, the carrier reported a record-setting profitability result for the year 2023. Now with the crippling aircraft delays, 2024 financial performance is in jeopardy, but there is more on the line. The fast-growing Middle Eastern airline is risking its brand image and reliability in the eyes of its customers.
Flydubai’s network in July 2024 (Photo: flydubai)
The sister company of Emirates, flydubai, is actively expanding its network. This year it announced entering all three of the Baltic markets, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as the first UAE-based carrier. Plans like the above depend on the new aircraft delivery schedule to be fulfilled.
The carrier has already implemented mitigating measures to combat the shortage of available aircraft. It kept some units that were bound to leave the fleet and has invested in an extensive retrofit program for its fleet of Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft. This requires additional funds allocation both to pay off the lessors and also to fund the retrofit operation.
Moreover, the company’s management engaged in a significant agreement with a Czech schedule flights, charter, lease, and ACMI provider, Smartwings. The full-economy configured Boeing 737-800s helped flydubai to fulfil its Winter 2023/24 schedule.
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