JEDDAH: When flydubai flight FZ811 touched down at Abha Airport on a cold wintry morning at 2.55 A.M. Tuesday there were warm cheers all around. The aircraft wound its way to the parking bay area to be welcomed by a water cannon salute – an arch formation of water spray over the plane. It was a momentous day for flydubai; a historic day for Abha. Dubai's first low-cost airline not only marked another milestone by opening its 26th destination in its one-and-a-half years of operations but, as CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith told Saudi Gazette, flydubai was delighted to be the first airline to open up what it believed will be a very successful route. Abha also marked flydubai's first foray into the Saudi market. A market where Al Ghaith sees a lot of potential and he is keen to explore. Abha is a burgeoning tourist destination, and with one-way fares including all taxes priced at just Dh450 per person – flights from Abha to Dubai start at SR475 – the route is bound to be a popular destination. flydubai offers daily flights to Abha. In an exclusive interview with Saudi Gazette, Al Ghaith spelled out his plans. Excerpts: Why did you opt for Abha as the first destination to fly to in Saudi Arabia besides the fact that it was a ‘vacant' destination? flydubai was established to serve a combination of destinations which already have well-established links with the UAE but require extra capacity and those which have few direct air links to the emirates. Abha, although it is a large city with great potential for tourism and commerce, has had no direct flights to the UAE. flydubai is delighted to be the first airline to open up what we believe will be a very successful route. What potential does Abha hold for flydubai? We believe the introduction of flydubai's simple, uncomplicated, direct flights from Abha to the UAE will make traveling to Emirates a much more affordable option, both in terms of cost and time. We believe this will stimulate the market and we will see many more people traveling directly between Abha and Dubai for both business and leisure. Are you thinking of flying to Yanbu next? We are looking at a number of destinations in Saudi Arabia and are in constant discussion with the authorities in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is an important market for flydubai and we hope to be able to extend our service to other cities in the Kingdom in the future. This move seems to be in tandem with the Saudi tourism authorities, who are keen to open up the tourism sector? flydubai is working very closely with all the relevant authorities in Saudi Arabia to increase the air links between the Kingdom and the UAE for the benefit of religious, leisure and business travelers. The first of these new flights makes the beautiful city of Abha accessible to visitors from the UAE who will enjoy the opportunity to discover all this region has to offer to tourists. What do you think of the Saudi market and the potential it holds? The Saudi market has enormous potential. The country is vast, the population is huge and there are very few international air travel options from secondary airports. I am confident that flydubai's new direct service to Abha will help to stimulate traffic between our two nations to the benefit of both our countries. One year down the line, how does flydubai compare with other budget airlines both within the region and outside? flydubai has adapted the traditional low-cost model to suit the environment in which we operate. We offer customers choices – the choice to purchase check-in luggage, the choice of where to sit on the aircraft, the choice to purchase food and drink. We also offer a network of 25 operational destinations (this will extend to 28 by the end of November) across the GCC, Middle East, Indian subcontinent, former CIS countries and North Africa. We are the first airline to receive the new Boeing Sky Interior, which enhances the customer experience by offering increased cabin space and new interior lighting which simulates the time of day outside. We have has also just introduced a revolutionary new type of in-flight entertainment to three of our aircraft. All new aircraft arriving will be fitted with the in-flight entertainment, which will give customers more options in allowing them to choose the entertainment that is right for them and their pocket. What are your future plans? Which new destinations are in the pipeline? This is a very exciting period for flydubai. We have three new destinations this week – Abha, Yerevan, Armenia; Sulaimaniyah, Iraq – and next week we start flights to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan. Is flydubai's business model different from that of other low-cost airlines operating in the Middle East? flydubai is not modeled on any particular low cost airline. We have looked at examples of well run low-cost airlines from across the world and tried to take the best parts from each, and the parts that we think will work well in this region. In addition, we've added our own thoughts and ideas and it is this combination that makes flydubai unique. What is flydubai's USP and how does it plan to be ahead of the game? flydubai was established by the Government of Dubai in March 2008 to ensure more people could travel to more destinations more often. We have already delivered on that promise by ensuring we have a wide and diverse network of 25 destinations across the region, and we carried more than one million passengers in our first 13 months of operation. What destinations/countries do you plan to focus on and why? flydubai will look at all options within a five-hour flight radius of Dubai. A five-hour flight from Dubai takes you to a third of the world's population, or 2.5 billion people, and there are many destinations within that radius that are currently underserved by direct air links to the UAE. This flight duration also ensures we do not have to stay overnight at the destination, which is one of the ways we keep our costs low. Could you highlight the thought and planning that went into launching flydubai and whether you have leveraged from Emirates airline? It has been incredibly satisfying to see flydubai go from a theory on a piece of paper into a fully operational, successful, commercial airline. Emirates Airline was tremendously helpful to us in the early days. Many staff at Emirates provided very generously of their time and expertise to ensure we got off to the best possible start and we are very grateful to them for that assistance. From the day we began commercial operations, on June 1, 2009, we have been completely independent from Emirates. Our management, finances and strategy are all completely separate. We still use Emirates for some services, such as handling at Dubai airport, flight catering and maintenance, however, these services are handled on a commercial basis as with any other supplier. Given your stint with Emirates, how has the move to flydubai been for you personally? How do you feel spearheading the operation of the fledgling airline? It is a tremendous privilege to be involved in the start of an airline. Working at flydubai is obviously very different from my work at Emirates, but I have been able to bring so many of the skills I learned at Emirates to flydubai and that has been of enormous benefit to me and the airline. I am very proud to head flydubai. I believe we have an excellent product and we are genuinely making travel more accessible to thousands of people who were previously excluded because of the lack of availability of cheap flights. We have a lot of big plans for the future and I am confident that flydubai will go from strength to strength and continue on the very rapid expansion plan we have set ourselves.
