Flydubai takes Delivery of First Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) Financed Aircraft
Thursday, 18 October 2012

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 18 October 2012: flydubai, Dubai’s low-cost airline, took delivery of the first of three Boeing 737-800NG aircraft financed through a $117.5 million loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank).

Its arrival takes flydubai’s fleet siz to 26 aircraft in operation. The next two aircraft will arrive in November and December, meaning by the end of 2012, the airline will have 28 aircraft.

Over the last three years since flydubai launched it has successfully financed its fleet primarily through sale and leaseback agreements.  It represents the first financing for Ex-Im Bank of Boeing aircraft to flydubai. flydubai operates from Terminal 2 on the north side of Dubai International Airport.

This year has also witnessed a network expansion with the addition of six new routes to date (Bucharest, Sana’a, Basra, Najaf, Bishkek and Taif) and a further two to follow: Skopje, the capital of Macedonia is scheduled to launch on 18 October and Tabuk, Saudi Arabia on 07 November.

In addition to these new routes, there has been a 41% increase in the number of flights across the network between August 2011 and August of this year. This, coupled with the airline’s established reliability, has created far more flexibility for both business and leisure travelers.

Ghaith Al Ghaith flydubai’s chief executive officer, said: “This landmark agreement with Ex-Im Bank is further proof of flydubai’s continued achievements. In our short history we have already achieved a great deal but what is truly exciting for us is that we have only just begun.

“Dubai’s reputation is firmly established on the world stage as a popular tourist destination, a financial centre and a trade and logistics hub. Its visionary decision to invest in becoming a leading global aviation hub and the fact that there is a population of over 2.5 billion within our geographic reach is a scenario that creates tremendous opportunity for us as an airline and we intend to fully capitalize on this.

“The Ex-Im Bank agreement, as important as it is, ultimately represents just another step on our journey. I can also state with conviction that as we grow we remain absolutely committed to delivering an experience defined by affordable fares across our network and giving our customers as much choice as possible.”

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