Flydubai plans to issue a tender for new narrow-body planes by the end of this year, in a deal that would be the largest aircraft order in its 15-year history, the airline's chief executive said at the Farnborough International Airshow.
"We are here because we will start the process to issue an RFP [request for proposals] for a new deal for narrow-body aircraft sometime before the end of the year," Ghaith Al Ghaith told The National on Wednesday on the sidelines of the airshow in the UK.
"So we are here to speak to everybody about it because it is a good opportunity.
"We are talking with Boeing, Airbus and engine-makers. It will be the biggest [order] for sure."
The airline made a record purchase in 2017 of 175 Boeing 737 aircraft.
The planned new order will help the airline grow its fleet into the next decade, after it takes delivery of its last Boeing 737 aircraft in 2031, and as it moves into the new passenger terminal at Al Maktoum International, whose capacity will allow it expand further, Mr Al Ghaith said.
The all-Boeing fleet operator said on Monday that its growth plans have been "stunted" after it received an update from the US plane maker that it will not get any further planes this year, leaving it with a shortage in capacity during a period of strong air travel demand.
The airline is examining the knock-on impact on its new routes and flight frequencies on existing destinations, Mr Al Ghaith said on Wednesday.
"We are studying this now and ... we may reduce frequencies on some routes, we may cancel some routes we've announced recently, we may also lease aircraft for a short period," he said.
"The team is studying this now and when I go back, we will make some decisions."
The extended jet delivery delays will have a "financial impact for sure", Mr Al Ghaith said, but the extent of that will depend on how far it can increase its aircraft utilisation.
In December last year, Boeing informed Flydubai that it will deliver 12 planes in 2024, he said. That included four planes that were originally meant to be handed over in 2023, but were delayed.
In March 2024, the airline was informed it will receive only eight of the 12 planes.
Last week, Boeing told Flydubai that it will not receive any additional aircraft beyond the four that have already been delivered this year, Mr Al Ghaith said.
Flydubai has held meetings with Boeing, among its other suppliers, during the airshow.
"Of course the issue came up, like many other issues did, but there is very little we can do about this," he said.
"As far as we're concerned, these are tough discussions."
Flydubai has ordered 251 of Boeing’s 737 jets in total and has yet to take delivery of 127 of the aircraft.
The US plane maker has been delaying deliveries as it struggles with production issues amid a safety and quality crisis that has increased regulatory scrutiny.
On Sunday, Boeing's chief of commercial jets Stephanie Pope said the company had disappointed its customers but it was making transformational and systemic changes based on feedback from its employees, airlines and regulators.
Ms Pope also said some customers had been led through Boeing's Renton factory to understand the actions being taken to address quality and safety issues, and that the factory floor had been opened for their inspection.
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures: Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
More on animal trafficking
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.
Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson.
Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.Â
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
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Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
