March 04--The budget carrier generated Dh3.7 billion revenue last year and carried 6.82 million passengers, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 38 percent due to continued demand for travel within a five-hour flying radius of the airline.
Dh3.7b revenues posted, 6.82m patrons served
Flydubai on Monday said its 2013 net profits surged 47 per cent to Dh222.8 million on the launching of new routes and business class services.
The budget carrier generated Dh3.7 billion revenue last year and carried 6.82 million passengers, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 38 per cent due to continued demand for travel within a five-hour flying radius of the airline.
The low-cost carrier, which launched 17 new routes in 2013 bringing its network to 66 destinations, sees a positive outlook but said the operational climate in 2014 will remain challenging. The airline is expected to receive the delivery of eight aircraft this year.
"2013 was a remarkable year for flydubai. We started the year having achieved our first full year of profitability; we launched business class services across our network and to support our future growth we placed the largest single-aisle Boeing aircraft order in the Middle East," Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of flydubai, said in a statement.
The airline ordered 75 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 11 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s, valued at $8.8 billion at list prices during the 2013 Dubai Airshow. In addition, the airline retains purchase rights for 25 more 737 MAXs.
The first aircraft from this order, 11 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s, will be delivered between 2016 and 2017 while the deliveries of the first Boeing 737 MAX will commence in the second half of 2017 and continue until the end of 2023. The airline, which built up a fleet of 36 new aircraft, will take delivery of more than 100 planes by 2023.
Shaikh Ahmed, who is also President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Emirates airline and Chief Executive of the Emirates Group, said: "Our 2013 profit rounds off another successful year for flydubai. The increase in profitability and focus on ensuring the efficiency of our operations, in spite of a complex operating environment, demonstrates the strength of our business model. Flydubai remains focused on playing a vital role in the UAE's economic development and creating free flows of trade and tourism in previously underserved markets."
Seven new Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft joined the airline's fleet last year while 14 planes were configured with a business class cabin. The airline grew its international team, drawn from 99 nationalities, to more than 2,250 employees including 499 pilots and 922 cabin crew.
"Adding more aircraft to our fleet this year will see us opening up many more new routes and to have placed another order for more aircraft before we have received all the deliveries from our original order shows our appetite for further expansion and the continued demand for our flights. There remains much untapped opportunity for us," Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive of flydubai, said. The airline has opened up 46 routes that were previously underserved or did not have direct air links to Dubai.
Passenger numbers across flydubai's network demonstrates strong demand with 17 per cent growth in Africa, 24 per cent in the Caucasus, 39 per cent in Central Asia, 55 per cent in Europe including Russia, 37 per cent in the GCC and Middle East, 41 per cent in the Subcontinent and these markets remain its geographic focus.
Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research, said flydubai is carving out a new hybrid niche for a mix of low-cost travel with business class, but providing quality services with an unbundled and fuss-free fare policy.
"These impressive numbers will surely be worrying for flydubai's regional rivals," Ahmad said, adding that the outlook for the airline is extremely robust and promising.
The airline's fuel expense remains the single-largest operating cost, which is 39.5 per cent of the total. During the last quarter of 2013, flydubai started hedging and 29 per cent of the total fuel requirements for 2014 have been hedged.
"Flydubai's stunning 47 per cent year-on-year rise in profits, despite fuel cost pressure, shows just how strong and robust the demand is for air travel into and out of Dubai," Ahmad said.
Copyright 2014 - Khaleej Times, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
