Flydubai in talks with Boeing, Airbus for next major deal

Flydubai has begun exploring its next major aircraft purchase, a deal that would mark its biggest transaction yet to carry the company well into the next decade, Chief Executive Officer Ghaith Al Ghaith said. 

The company is evaluating options with both Boeing Co. and Airbus SE, the CEO said in an interview at the Farnborough International Air Show. The airline operates an all-Boeing fleet for now, but significant delays and cancellations with the US company are prompting a rethink of that exclusive arrangement for the next purchase. 

“We have to make a decision for the next 10 years,” Al Gaith said. A new order would “certainly” be surpassing previous purchases, he said, the largest of which was in 2017, when the carrier snapped up 175 737 aircraft. “The opportunity is always there and there’s a choice for both Airbus and Boeing.”

Flydubai is being forced to plan further in advance, which in turn stands to translate into the largest purchase in its 15-year history. Only last week, the airline was informed by Boeing that it wouldn’t receive any additional planes this year, leaving it with a significant shortfall at a time when air travel remains strong. 

The airline has only received four planes this year, all of which were laggards from the backlog, Al Ghaith said in the interview. Flydubai has ordered 251 of Boeing’s 737 jets in total and has yet to take delivery of 127 of the aircraft

The CEO said he’s unsure when the US planemaker will be able to deliver the delayed jets, calling the delays “a moment of pure frustration.”

While Flydubai has leased some aircraft in the past to make up for some of the shortfall, the CEO said he doesn’t like to resort to that step because customers don’t like flying on aircraft that aren’t branded Flydubai. The airline is now working out how to increase utilisation of the existing fleet as it manages with fewer aircraft, he said.

The company placed a purchase for widebody 787 Dreamliner aircraft for the first time last year, seeking to expand the radius of its operations. Al Gaith said he is confident there’ll be only a marginal delay, if any, on that aircraft when it starts delivering in 2026.

“It’s a very critical program,” he said. “It will give us bigger scope, a bigger radius.”