Dubai’s low-cost carrier Flydubai has announced it will commence operations from the start of June, with initial routes to Beirut and Amman.
The flights will be plied with new-generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft, fitted with 189 economy seats designed by Recaro. Daily flights from Dubai to Beirut will start on June 1, with the Dubai-Amman route commencing the following day.
The cost of a one-way flight from Dubai to either of the two destinations will start from AED250 (£46.50), although as with most low-cost carriers there will be additional add-ons. If you want to choose your seat it will cost AED5 (£1), while a seat with extra legroom will set you back AED50 (£9.30).
Flydubai says that it has postiioned its seat pockets at the top of the seat rather than close to the knees to provide extra room for passengers, with the distance between the back of the seat and the seat in front varying from 74cm to 79cm (or up to 22cm more if you purchase the extra legroom option).
There is a 10-kg hand luggage allowance, which the carrier says is the most generous allowance in the region. The first piece of checked luggage (up to 32kg) will cost AED40 (£7.50) unless paid for at the airport in which case the charge is AED150 (£28), while a second piece will cost AED100 (£18.60) or AED150 (£28) respectively.
There is the option to buy a “free to change” fare, which gives the freedom to change or cancel your flight up to 24 hours before departure for no charge. The “pay to change” fare attracts a charge of AED100 (£18.60) per person per flight for any changes.
A selection of snacks, soft and alcoholic drinks, will be available for purchase on all flights, and on selected flights over two and a half hours, hot food will also be available.
Interestingly the carrier will be flying from Terminal 2 at Dubai International airport, rather than becoming the first airline to fly from the six-runway Al Maktoum airport (currently under construction) as had been earlier suggested. Emirates recently moved into the new Terminal 3 at Dubai International, and Flydubai says that the redeveloped Terminal 2 now features extended, brighter departure and arrival areas, additional departure gates, a specially-designed children's play area and new and improved food and beverage outlets, with further enhancements planned.
The carrier says that its network will "expand rapidly", with destinations to other cities in the Middle East, GCC and India due to be added "soon". It adds that it intends to eventually extend the network to Iran, Eastern Europe, and North and East Africa.
Customers can book online at flydubai.com, or via the airline’s call centre, although the latter will attract an AED30 (£5.60) fee.
For more information visit flydubai.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
Below is the full timetable for flights to Beirut and Amman with Flydubai:
