Flydubai Launches New Destinations

Low-cost airline flydubai has announced plans to launch new flights into Eastern Europe, increasing its number of destinations to 15.

The Dubai-based carrier announced on Wednesday the new destinations are to be Bucharest in Romania and Skopje in Macedonia. The airline’s reach will expand across 10 countries when the new services begin.

The Bucharest service will begin at the start of October with three weekly flights while the Skopje service will start as a twice-weekly service from October 18, according to a local news source.

“Our two latest routes illustrate flydubai’s commitment to expanding connectivity from the Middle East to new destinations that have historically been underserved,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, flydubai’s CEO.

“As economies within Central & Eastern Europe gather momentum and destinations gain more prominence, the breadth of Flydubai’s reach within the region will be instrumental in promoting trade ties and encouraging travel.”

The airline already operates out of Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

As previously reported in Gulf Business, Flydubai announced last month that it had signed an agreement with a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank to receive financing of $172 million to buy two Boeing 737-800NG aircraft.

The eight-year sale and leaseback agreement with Pembroke followed the request for proposal issued by Flydubai for its 2012 aircraft funding requirements.