Dubai Airshow 2023: flydubai places its first wide-body order with Boeing for 30 787 Dreamliners for $11b

Dubai: Dubai carrier flydubai followed through on its commitment to fleet expansion by placing its inaugural order for 30 787-9 Dreamliners, marking its first venture into wide-body aircraft. Plans are in place to use the 787s to open new routes and grow capacity on existing routes.

The airline, however, is still evaluating its engine options for its first Dreamliner order.

Making the announcement at the Dubai Airshow, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of flydubai, said, “In March 2008, we announced the formation of flydubai. A few months later, even before our first flight took off, we placed our first order for 50 Next Generation Boeing 737 aircraft. We were confident of the vital role flydubai would play in supporting Dubai’s aviation hub.”

This marks flydubai’s fourth aircraft order since launch. flydubai currently operates an all-737 fleet of 79 aeroplanes. The airline has an order backlog of 137 737s.

Sheikh Ahmed said, “This signals a new chapter for the airline. In 14 years, flydubai has achieved many milestones. It had built a fleet of over 80 Boeing 737 aircraft and developed an expanded network of over 120 destinations from Italy to Malaysia.”