flydubai is considering opening several new Russian destinations. The carrier also plans to deploy its new Boeing 737 Max aircraft to Vnukovo Airport in the near future.
"We more than doubled our traffic from Russia in 2017," said flydubai Senior Vice President Jeyhun Efendi. "The number of flights has increased almost two and a half times, and we now fly to Russia over 50 times a week. One of the main reasons for this was the abolition of pre-arranged UAE visas for Russian citizens last year. Independent travelers flocked to us en masse. We also opened three new routes—to Voronezh, Makhachkala, and Ufa—as well as a second Moscow route to Sheremetyevo. This year, rapid growth has continued in the first few months. However, much depends on the ruble exchange rate—the recent fluctuations have immediately impacted sales. Nevertheless, we hope that growth will be similar to last year's. Overall, flydubai grew by 151,000 passengers to 12 million last year, making Russian destinations the top growth destinations.
— Do you plan to open any more routes to Russia?
We're always exploring new opportunities. There are no specific plans at the moment, but one possible destination we could consider is St. Petersburg, although it's already served by Emirates. Grozny is asking to open a route to them—currently, residents of Chechnya have to fly from Makhachkala or Mineralnye Vody. It could be a seasonal route—perhaps with flights to Makhachkala on different days, so residents of both cities have more choice when flying. But again, these are just potential options for now.
— How many cities in Russia can you serve under the intergovernmental agreement?
"The thing is that we and many of our current routes operate under temporary permits, which are renewed annually. This has its pros and cons—on the one hand, opening a route is relatively easy, but on the other, there's the case of Novosibirsk, where we had to close the route after just a month of operations. However, we haven't seen any increase in passenger traffic on that route for other carriers since then."
— Are you adding flights during the World Cup?
— Yes, we're adding additional flights to six cities based on the match schedule. Typically, this means a flight the day before the game and a flight the day after the game—if they weren't already on the regular schedule. These flights will be to Rostov, Yekaterinburg, Samara, and Kazan, and we'll have two or three daily flights to Moscow, both to Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo. We'll also be offering one-off flights to Volgograd and Sochi, which we don't fly to regularly. All these flights are already on sale.
— What is the demand for these flights?
"I wouldn't call it very large, because many are used to flying via Moscow and have already purchased tickets. And many fans aren't just traveling for one game, but for a week or two—let's say they fly to Moscow, then travel around the country, and then fly back out of Moscow. But there's strong demand from Saudi Arabia for the cities where their national team will be playing—that is, Moscow, Rostov, and Volgograd. There's also significant demand from South America—mostly fans from Argentina and Brazil, who will fly to Dubai on Emirates and then on to various Russian cities on our flights."
Why did you decide to fly to two Moscow airports, and was this decision worth it?
"Of course, there are additional costs. Many in our office, not being familiar with Moscow, were skeptical about this decision. But Moscow is a unique city; many passengers have clear preferences for their departure airport due to the long distances involved, and they often choose their flights based on this. Vnukovo is good, but Sheremetyevo has long been considered the main international airport. Not flying from Sheremetyevo is like not flying from Heathrow in London. In London, many companies also fly from two airports simultaneously; this is a normal solution for large cities. Sheremetyevo is currently developing rapidly, and they actively invited us. We also came to Vnukovo when that airport was undergoing a qualitative leap.
— And which flight is more popular?
"They sell equally well. Both routes have their customers. Vnukovo has its niche, and we're the only one at this airport that flies to Dubai on a scheduled flight. Last year, there were still a lot of charters, but the trend now is toward a shift from charters to scheduled flights."
— Are you planning to use the Boeing 737 Max on the Vnukovo flight?
"Yes, we are planning to—either by the end of this year or next. We currently have six such aircraft, and they fly to Sheremetyevo, Prague, Krakow, Belgrade, and twice daily to Bucharest and Kyiv. By the end of the year, there will be thirteen, and around then, Vnukovo will be next."
— Have ticket prices changed for Boeing 737 Max flights?
— In economy class, no. But in business class, a Max flight is about $30% more expensive because it's a different product—not a reclining seat, but a fully flat bed. The Max also has a new, advanced entertainment system and larger video screens. Incidentally, the arrival of the 737 Max has led to a slight increase in demand on these routes.
— What impact has the expanded partnership with Emirates had on flydubai's Russian passenger traffic?
— It depends greatly on the destination. For example, there hasn't been a huge increase on Moscow flights, since Emirates flies there itself. However, there is a significant flow of Emirates tickets on our Sheremetyevo flights. I wouldn't call the growth explosive in the regions either, since there's generally not that much demand for Emirates' long-haul routes there. That said, we do have routes where the majority of passengers fly with Emirates—for example, on flights to Serbia. Overall, the network is looking like this: before last year's codeshare agreement, we had an average of about 500 passengers a day transferring in Dubai to Emirates flights, or vice versa. Now, less than a year into the codeshare agreement, that number is already around 5,000 a day, meaning the number of such passengers has increased tenfold. The goal is to increase that number to 10,000.
— Did you decide to come to Sheremetyevo yourself or was it Emirates’ request?
"It's our decision—although Emirates is genuinely pleased that they can now sell tickets from Sheremetyevo as well. There's some coordination going on—for example, we've adjusted our Moscow flight schedule to accommodate both our interests and Emirates's. They can now offer four different departure times from Moscow to Dubai and back—this has allowed them to significantly reduce connecting times in Dubai for some long-haul flights."
— Is the selection of new flight cities coordinated?
"Our original strategy has remained largely the same—we've always focused on cities with insufficient passenger traffic for a wide-body aircraft, but sufficient for our smaller Boeing 737. For example, Emirates serves Warsaw, the capital of Poland, and we fly to the small Krakow airport. It's the same in other countries: for example, we're now launching flights to Catania, Thessaloniki, and Helsinki—small cities that Emirates doesn't fly to. We're planning many new destinations, and these will almost always be niche routes like these. Emirates and I complement each other well."
— How popular are paid services on Russian flights?
"The most popular item is onboard Duty Free—it's probably just part of Russian passenger habits, as they often shop at Duty Free both at the airport and on the plane. However, only a little over 101,000 passengers purchase access to the in-flight entertainment system. Many bring their own tablets or laptops and watch movies they've downloaded at home. However, slightly more people purchase items on the Boeing 737 Max, thanks to the better screens and better selection of films.
Source: travel.ru
