Budget carrier flydubai targets more routes to India

Less than 2 per cent of the airline’s current capacity is in India, which has the potential to grow tenfold, according to flydubai chief executive Ghaith al Ghaith.

Flydubai’s existing India business is just a fraction of its potential size, according to its chief executive Ghaith al Ghaith. Jeff Topping / The National

Sean Cronin

Flydubai plans a huge expansion in India and the subcontinent as it targets emerging under-served commuter routes in the world’s second-most populous nation.

But it will first have to overcome strict capacity limits imposed on foreign carriers in the country.

"Our best bet is that the government of India decides there are certain routes that can be opened up to encourage people to commute more easily," said the flydubai chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith.

Less than 2 per cent of the airline’s current capacity is in India, which has the potential to grow tenfold, according to Mr Al Ghaith.

Last year India and Dubai agreed to expand their bilateral air services agreement which increased the 55,000 weekly seat entitlements for each side by a fifth, according to the Sydney-based Capa consultancy.

“The Indian market still holds massive potential with enormous traffic movements between the two countries,” said John Strickland, director of the UK-based JLS Consulting.

Both flydubai and Emirates are targeting expansion across the country – an obvious growth market for the pair with more than 2 million expatriate Indians estimated to be living in the UAE.

Emirates operates 185 flights to India each week, serving 10 destinations.

Last month Chennai became flydubai’s eighth destination in India, where it operates 29 weekly flights. The addition of four new routes in the country last year helped to boost passenger numbers there by 70 per cent.

But the carrier’s existing India business is just a fraction of its potential size, according to Mr Al Ghaith.

“Most of our flights to India are full,” he said. “We could service a lot of smaller airports in India. We continue to prompt and lobby, but at the end of the day it is not our decision.”

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