Dubai's budget air carrier boasts impressive growth

Dubai's first low cost airline, flydubai, has registered significant growth in the second year of its operations during the June, 2010-May, 2011, period. The airline says its Available Seats per Kilometre (ASKM) and Revenue Per Kilometre (RPKM) recorded increases of 161% for ASKMs and 181% for RPKMs in June, 2010-May, 2011, vis-a-vis the previous 12 months.

"Another measure of success is to look at how many flights are delayed. flydubai's record in this area is one of the best in the industry with on-time performance recorded at 85%," the airline said in a statement. The airline's first flight took off on June 1, 2009.

"flydubai would not have been able to grow and develop so quickly if we did not operate in such a fantastic environment for business as the UAE," airline CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said. According to Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Chairman of flydubai, after just two years in operation, flydubai is now a household name in the region. 

"With a network spanning the GCC, Middle East, North Africa, Indian sub-continent, Asia and the fringes of Europe, flydubai is stimulating demand for travel and finding new markets with an appetite for developing business and tourism links with the UAE," he added.

Announced by the government of Dubai in March, 2008, the vision for the airline was to provide a low cost alternative on already popular routes from Dubai, such as Beirut, as well as to open up destinations that were underserved by direct air links to the UAE, such as Baku, Azerbaijan.

Ghaith Al Ghaith said the airline's strategy was to expand as quickly as possible. "Today we have 16 aircraft and 36 operational destinations -- making us the fastest growing start-up airline ever. One of the biggest challenges for a new company is dealing with rapid expansion while ensuring the systems, procedures and staff are in place to maintain consistent levels of service," he said. 

Today it boasts of a 78% increase in the number of flights, a 100% increase in aircraft, a 150% increase in routes and a 200 per cent increase in passengers.