flydubai takes delivery of 18th aircraft

Flydubai, Dubai's low-cost airline, said on Wednesday that it has taken delivery of its 18th aircraft, which will be put into service next month to support new routes.The arrival of the plane means the airline has doubled the size of its fleet in the past year. In a statement, flydubai said the new Boeing 737-800 NG represented an investment of $80m and was the latest delivery of the order of 50 placed by flydubai at the 2008 Farnborough Airshow.Commenting on the new arrival, Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said: "The new aircraft has gone straight into service just in time to support the new CIS routes launching in September, as well as the upcoming busy Eid holiday."Flydubai started operations as Dubai's first low-cost airline in June 2009 with daily flights to Beirut, Lebanon.The airline targets destinations within a 4.5 hour flight-radius of Dubai, and currently has operations to 38 cities, with five additional routes - Ufa and Kazan in Russia as well as Ukrainian destinations Kiev, Donetsk and Kharkov - scheduled to start next month.All flydubai fares are one way and inclusive of taxes, and includes the cost of one piece of hand baggage weighing up to 7kg and a small handbag or laptop bag. from / Arabian Business News