flydubai’s expansion plans have been significantly impacted by Boeing’s latest update regarding ongoing delays in its aircraft delivery schedule. The carrier is currently evaluating its route development plans and potential frequency revision across the network due to a lack of new aircraft deliveries over the next few months.
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flydubai’s plans for this year were initially based on the commitment to receive 14 new aircraft. The carrier continues to explore all possible avenues to mitigate the impact of these delivery delays. The unpredictability of the aircraft delivery schedules from Boeing over the past few years has put significant pressure on the carrier and its ability to firmly plan for its projected growth, especially as it geared up to meet the strong demand for travel after the pandemic.
Commenting on the ongoing delays, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “we are extremely disappointed to learn that Boeing will not be able to fulfil its commitment to deliver more aircraft for the remainder of the year. Boeing’s short-noticed and frequent delivery schedule revisions have hindered our strategic growth plans resulting in significant disruptions to our published schedules. The reduced capacity will ultimately affect our customers as well as our projected financial performance.”
“flydubai has always valued its longstanding partnership with Boeing and both airline and the manufacturer have been resilient and agile in tackling challenges over the years. We urge Boeing to take immediate action and implement measures to stabilise its production and delivery processes to avoid further delays while upholding the highest standards. We look forward to a swift resolution of this issue,” added Al Ghaith.
flydubai operates a single fleet-type of 88 Boeing 737 aircraft and includes: 29 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800, 56 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 03 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. Ongoing challenges with Boeing’s delivery schedule resulted in fewer aircraft being delivered every year for the past 3 years.
Multiple revisions of the delivery schedule for 2024 meant that Boeing will not deliver the 14 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft originally scheduled for the year. The aircraft delivered in the first half of the year were from the backlog of previous years and faced extensive delays. flydubai has more than 125 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on order to be delivered over the next decade.