Flydubai expands network in Russia

flydubai yesterday inaugurated flights to two new destinations in Russia, Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk, making it the first Dubai-based airline to serve these cities. Offering one of the most comprehensive networks from the UAE, the carrier now operates to 10 destinations in Russia.

flydubai marked its first entry to the Russian market in 2010 with the launch of flights to Samara and Yekaterinburg. Five years on, the carrier continues to grow its network in the market, opening up previously under-served destinations that had no or few direct links to the UAE.

Commenting on the occasion, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai, said, "Since the start of our flights to Russia five years ago, we have seen strong demand for affordable, reliable and direct services to Dubai. We are committed to growing our network in the market and the new flights to Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk will provide passengers from the UAE and Russia with an accessible means to explore both countries."

The inaugural flight to Novosibirsk landed on 7th October at Tolmachevo International Airport. On board the aircraft were Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President Commercial (UAE, EU, ME, CIS) for flydubai, and key representatives from the UAE and Indian media and members of the UAE business community. The delegation was welcomed by Sergey Titov, Minister of Transport of the Novosibirsk region. During the trip, the UAE delegation is holding a series of meetings in Novosibirsk with their Russian counterparts to discuss business and trade opportunities between Novosibirsk and Dubai.

Jeyhun Efendi said, "flydubai is committed to creating free flows of trade and tourism between Dubai and the destinations it operates to. We are pleased to introduce flydubai's business class service and cargo operations to our newest destinations in Russia and to provide passengers with more options to explore not only Dubai but further afield across our network to Africa, the Middle East and Subcontinent."

flydubai's network in Russia includes Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Ufa and Yekaterinburg, providing the large Russian expatriate community in Dubai and the UAE with the option to visit family and friends more often for less. The direct flights also make it easier for businesses to explore opportunities across Russia which were not very accessible before due to the limited availability of direct flights.

flydubai has announced 18 new destinations since the start of 2015 creating a network of more than 95 destinations in 45 countries. It operates a fleet of 50 new Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft with an average age of 3.1 years and has more than 100 new aircraft on order. The carrier's interline agreements allow passengers to benefit from Dubai's efficient aviation hub providing opportunity for onward travel to more than 250 destinations around the world.