flydubai (FZ, Dubai International) received only four B737-8 aircraft last year, all originally scheduled for deliveries in 2023 or before. None of the deliveries that were contractually scheduled for 2024 occurred, company's financial report reveals. The delivery issues prompted the airline to extend the lease agreements for several B737-800s.
The deliveries of the factory-new Boeing jets took place in the first half of 2024, but these four MAX 8s are part of a backlog from previous years. flydubai consequently extended the dry leases of four B737-800s that were due to return to their lessors.
The carrier also revealed that it had implemented "frequency revisions" across the network stemming from the problems with the arrival of new aircraft.
The company's fleet currently consists of 88 aircraft - fifty-six B737-8s, twenty-nine B737-800s, and three B737-9s, and flydubai is awaiting delivery of 127 B737-8s and 30 B787-9s, as per the ch-aviation fleets module.
flydubai carried 15.4 million passengers in 2024, up 11% on 2023, while the load factor increased by 1.2%. It posted a rise in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to AED4.1 billion dirhams (USD1.1 billion) and annual post-tax profit of AED2.2 billion (USD599 million).
