Flydubai expects its annual profit in 2023 to beat last year's levels, following its busiest summer travel period on record, but warned of headwinds from high oil prices and delays in aircraft deliveries.
The sister airline of Emirates airline registered a record full-year profit of Dh1.2 billion ($327 million) in 2022, a 43 per cent surge on 2021.
“We expect this year to be better than last year, but it all depends on the second half of 2023, especially with regards to fuel prices because the increase is quite significant and hit us by surprise,” Ghaith Al Ghaith, flydubai's chief executive, said on Tuesday.
The airline's fuel bill makes up more than 25 per cent of its total cost, according to the official.
Flydubai had a bumper summer when it carried more than four million passengers between June and mid-September this year, up 30 per cent on the same period of 2022, Mr Al Ghaith said.
It operated 32,000 flights across a network of 120 destinations in 52 countries, a 22 per cent increase on the number of flights during the same period last year.
“This is probably the busiest summer in terms of the number of passengers and flights in the history of flydubai,” he said, citing the attraction of the UAE as a tourism and business destination.
The airline also expects a “bumper” winter as the UAE remains busy year-round with attractions and business events, including the Cop28 climate change summit hosted by Dubai in November.
“The whole year could be better as we, like many others in the industry, suffer delays in receiving aircraft and that has affected performance … it's not only to do with aircraft manufacturers but the whole supply chain.”
The global aviation industry has been grappling with continuing disruptions in its supply chain since the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in rising costs, delivery delays and production snags.
The airline boss expects these supply chain woes to continue into 2024, with delays spanning aviation suppliers from seat manufacturers to aircraft galley-makers.
The all-Boeing fleet operator, which was scheduled to take delivery of 17 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets this year, has received just seven of these aircraft and expects further delays to the remaining handovers.
Of the remaining aircraft to be delivered this year, “if we get four, we will be lucky”, Mr Al Ghaith said.
“We're in constant discussion with Boeing, we are trying to solve this problem as much as possible, but it's a big issue,” he said.
To mitigate the problem, flydubai has leased additional aircraft and plans to extend the lease on other aircraft that are nearing the end of their rental period.
Continuing talks for new jet order
The low-cost airline remains in discussions with aircraft manufacturers for a new plane order to fulfil its fleet requirements for growth and replacement in the next phase of its expansion.
“We are extremely interested in making further acquisitions of aircraft,” Mr Al Ghaith said.
The talks are not yet at a “mature level” to guarantee an announcement at the biennial Dubai Airshow in November when plane makers will vie to score the highest number of commercial jet deals.
The decision is being affected by the “availability of aircraft at the right time” and “complications from different suppliers”, Mr Al Ghaith said.
“But it could happen still, so watch out for that,” he added.
Airlines around the world are clamouring for new aircraft to grow and replace their fleets to meet the boom in demand for air travel.
As it ramps up its operations to meet this surge in demand, flydubai has hired 800 employees this year and will continue its employment drive with plans to add another 200 to 300 staff this year, Mr Al Ghaith said.
The airline's workforce currently stands at 5,300 people.
The carrier recently announced the launch of operations to three new destinations. Its daily service to Cairo starts on October 28, Poznan in Poland begins on October 29 and Mombasa is scheduled to join the network from January 17, 2024.
Mr Al Ghaith sees more “underserved” routes in Africa and joined a growing chorus of UAE airline executives in calling for an open sky agreement between the UAE and India.
The India-Middle-East-Europe Economic Corridor, which was announced during the G20 summit in New Delhi this month, features a multibillion-dollar rail and shipping link.
“With [this] partnership to create a corridor of trade, aviation should also be liberated – if that happens then the potential is endless. India has the highest potential in the world to attract more tourism,” Mr Al Ghaith said.
Scoreline
Germany 2
Werner 9', Sane 19'
Netherlands 2
Promes 85', Van Dijk 90'
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Brief scores
Toss India, chose to bat
India 281-7 in 50 ov (Pandya 83, Dhoni 79; Coulter-Nile 3-44)
Australia 137-9 in 21 ov (Maxwell 39, Warner 25; Chahal 3-30)
India won by 26 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Company%C2%A0profile
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Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Company%20profile
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Results
Stage three:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-43
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
5. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
6. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) UAE-Team Emirates, at 24s
General Classification:
1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-13-02
2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s
3. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin Fenix, at 12s
4. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s
5. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s
6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s
STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
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The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Blonde
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
The years Ramadan fell in May
One-off T20 International: UAE v Australia
When: Monday, October 22, 2pm start
Where: Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1
Tickets: Admission is free
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Darcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Peter Siddle
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
