Flydubai has cancelled the launch of routes planned for the second half of this year and reduced capacity on some others because of jet delivery delays at Boeing and supply chain problems, its chief executive has said.
The Dubai-based airline also temporarily suspended its flight schedule to Pisa in Italy from October to March 2025 to mitigate the impact on busy travel periods.
Flydubai cancelled its routes to Riga in Latvia, Tallinn in Estonia and Vilnius in Lithuania that were scheduled to start in October, despite a solid performance in the first six months of the year, chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith told The National on Monday.
Unfortunately, there will be no further route launches this year
Ghaith Al Ghaith,
chief executive, Flydubai
The all-Boeing fleet operator said in July that its growth plans have been "stunted" after it received an update from the US manufacturer that it would not receive any more planes this year, creating a capacity shortage during a period of strong demand.
The airline then had to examine the knock-on effect on its new routes and flight frequencies on existing destinations as a result, Mr Al Ghaith said at the time.
"Flydubai had another strong performance for the first half of 2024, and we have seen very strong demand for travel this summer as well. We are pleased to see a successful start of operations to our newest destination in Europe, with the launch of direct flights to Basel earlier this month. Unfortunately, there will be no further route launches this year," Mr Al Ghaith said on Monday.
"The airline had recently revised its flight schedule due to ongoing delays in aircraft delivery schedules and supply chain disruptions. To mitigate the impact during the busy travel periods, we have cancelled our upcoming route launches in the Baltic that were planned for October."
In December, Boeing told flydubai that it will deliver 12 planes in 2024. That included four that were delayed from 2023.
In March, the airline was informed it will receive only eight of the 12 planes.
In July, Boeing told flydubai that it will not receive any additional aircraft beyond the four already delivered this year.
"We are doing everything we can to reduce the impact of the schedule changes on our customers without having to resort back to wet leasing additional aircraft. This remains an option to explore for the future if we have to," Mr Al Ghaith said.
"In line with these developments, we are in touch with our customers and travel partners regarding their refund or rebooking options."
Flydubai advised customers whose flights have been affected to visit its website or call the flydubai contact centre, the flydubai travel store or their travel agent.
"We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers’ travel schedules," Mr Al Ghaith said.
The flydubai chief joins a growing chorus of aviation leaders expressing frustrations about continuing aircraft delays. This comes as Boeing struggles with a safety and quality crisis, which was caused by a panel falling off a 737 Max jet in mid-air in January. Its rival Airbus is also struggling to reach production output goals.
Etihad Airways' chief executive Antonoaldo Neves this month said that when he meets Boeing's new chief executive Kelly Ortberg “sooner or later”, he will have one main request for the new leader of the company.
“When I meet him and I ask him one thing, it's going to be: 'please deliver my planes on time'”, Mr Neves said in an interview this month.
Mr Ortberg has pledged to “restore trust” in the embattled US aerospace company when he officially took charge on August 8.
Delays in delivering planes have hobbled global airlines' efforts to fully capitalise on the post-pandemic surge in air travel demand.
In July, Boeing's chief of commercial jets Stephanie Pope said the company had disappointed its customers but it was making transformational and systemic changes based on feedback from its employees, airlines and regulators.
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on animal trafficking
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WallyGPT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2014%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaeid%20and%20Sami%20Hejazi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%247.1%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%20round%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Ant-Man%20and%20the%20Wasp%3A%20Quantumania
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPeyton%20Reed%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Paul%20Rudd%2C%20Evangeline%20Lilly%2C%20Jonathan%20Majors%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Fringe@Four Line-up
October 1 - Phil Nichol (stand-up comedy)
October 29 - Mandy Knight (stand-up comedy)
November 5 - Sinatra Raw (Fringe theatre)
November 8 - Imah Dumagay & Sundeep Fernandes (stand-up comedy)
November 13 - Gordon Southern (stand-up comedy)
November 22 - In Loyal Company (Fringe theatre)
November 29 - Peter Searles (comedy / theatre)
December 5 - Sinatra’s Christmas Under The Stars (music / dinner show)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
