flydubai profits surge on ‘increased passenger demand’

flydubai on Monday announced its annual Results for the year ending 31 December 2021, reporting a profit of AED 841 million (USD 229 million) on what it termed ‘an increased passenger demand’.

The airline said that it carries 5.6 million passengers in the year 2021, marking an increase of 76% compared to 2020, with an overall seat factor of 69%.

Commenting on the announcement of the airline’s full-year Results for 2021, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of flydubai, said that “the tremendous results flydubai is reporting for 2021 come after a very challenging two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decisions taken by the UAE’s leadership, which saw the implementation of the precautionary safety measures throughout the customer journey, gave visitors the confidence to travel to Dubai; resulting in a 76% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers. We remain well placed to continue to welcome passengers across our network to Dubai and beyond. flydubai is intrinsic to Dubai’s travel and tourism industry.”

Key highlights for the year ending 31 December 2021 contributing to flydubai’s recovery since the peak of the pandemic

• 22 new routes were launched in 2021, 13 of which were unserved destinations from Dubai
• The top 10 busiest routes for scheduled flights across the flydubai network were Alexandria (HBE), Bahrain (BAH), Bucharest (OTP), Doha (DOH), Karachi (KHI), Kathmandu (KTM), Male’ (MLE), Tbilisi (TBS), Tel Aviv (TLV) and Zanzibar (ZNZ)
• To meet the demand for travel over the summer, the airline launched flights to five destinations for the summer season: Batumi (BUS), Bodrum (BJV), Mykonos (JMK), Santorini (JTR) and Trabzon (TZX)
• With the easing of the travel restrictions around the network, flydubai has seen an increase in the demand for travel. In January 2020, flydubai operated 5,701 flights. The number of flights surpassed pre-pandemic levels in December 2021 when the airline operated 6,430 flights
• flydubai has seen an increase in demand for connecting traffic with 34% of passengers connecting on to the flydubai network or through its codeshare with Emirates
• Demand for Business Class increased in the following regions on the flydubai network:
  • The GCC saw an increase of 42% in 2021 up from 35% in 2019
  • Europe saw an increase of 51% in 2021 up from 41% in 2019
  • Africa saw an increase of 42% in 2021 up from 35% in 2019
• The fleet expanded to 59 aircraft including 34 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800, 22 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 3 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft
• The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft rejoined the airline’s fleet from April which were maintained in active storage to facilitate a seamless return to service
• flydubai will continue to operate a mixed fleet of Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft
• In July, flydubai reached an agreement with Boeing and the airline has adjusted its aircraft orders which had been placed in 2013 and 2017.  flydubai revised down the total number of aircraft it will receive by 65 aircraft.  As at 31 December, 25 aircraft had been received from its orders with 161 aircraft due for delivery
• flydubai completed the financing requirements for 13 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and two LEAP-1B engines by sale and leaseback to support aircraft deliveries during 2021
• flydubai moved into its new Campus in April bringing its team together and creating a greener and sustainable working environment with a LEED certification. The Campus includes a Training Centre for its crew
• Since the airline’s extended codeshare partnership with Emirates was launched in 2017, more than 8.3 million passengers have enjoyed seamless connectivity across the joint network

Outlook statement for 2022

The airline’s strategy for the year ahead is to contribute to the rebuilding of the travel sector following the COVID-19 pandemic.  From March 2022, flydubai will take delivery of 20 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which will see further deployment of its onboard product and support the airline’s future growth.  These aircraft will be deployed across the network to provide customers with the opportunity to travel to more places, more often.