Background
Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai, operates its B737-800 flight, five times a week between Mumbai and Dubai, with onward connections to a host of relatively under-served destinations such as Bucharest, Sarajevo, Sofia, Belgrade and Bratislava, among many other destinations in Africa. The carrier operates 30 weekly flights between Dubai and India (Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Ahmedabad).
The aircraft on this leg features a two-class configuration with 12 business class and 162 standard class economy seats.
The Lounge
Flydubai operates out of Dubai’s smaller and oft forgotten Terminal 2. Due to the small scale of this terminal, it is easy to navigate within a few minutes. The Flydubai business class lounge is a fuss-free lounge with all the basic comforts of a lounge — charging stations, WiFi, bar and dining room.
Boarding
While each flight has a designated gate number, business class passengers are directed to an exclusive boarding gate, used by all premium passengers. This gate is at the far end of the terminal and features a mini pre-boarding lounge with drinks and snacks, just before a special shuttle ferries you to your aircraft.
The Seat
While the new business class seats on Flydubai’s new B787 MAX 8 are flatbeds, this product has not yet been assigned to the India. This flight featured Italian leather seats, in soft, pleasing colours, with a generous recline, a comfortable leg rest and a power socket for your devices.
The seat comes with a 12.1 inch extremely responsive touchscreen, offering a great entertainment selection, complementary for this cabin class, and chargeable in economy class.
Which Seat To Choose
There are only three rows of seats in business class. I usually like to choose row 2, as it is in the middle of the cabin, without being too close to the galleys or the infant bassinet row of economy class.
The Flight
The three-hour hop to Mumbai featured a round of beverages and a hot dinner service, which included a Middle Eastern salad and an Indian-style chicken gravy with rice, followed by a chocolate pastry and a freshly brewed Nespresso. Blankets are distributed soon after takeoff and the crew were friendly and extremely attentive, addressing passengers by last name.
Verdict
An excellent narrow-body product between India and Dubai, with exceptional connectivity options. Moreover, for the time-strapped traveller, Terminal 2 is an absolute pleasure as it is small, uncrowded and easy to navigate.
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