“Navigating through challenging times characterised by continued fluctuating fuel prices, disruption to supply chains, rising global inflation and geopolitical unrest did not dampen our strong performance last year,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai. “Our robust cost control measures, network optimisation, strong yield and the significant fuel efficiencies of our fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft have contributed to this historic financial performance.”
Cost and revenue performance
From the financial side, fuel cost continued to be the single highest operating cost for the airline with 33.9 per cent of total annual operating costs. The airline said this was due to the substantial increase in fuel prices last year.
Last year, flydubai also secured financing for 20 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and 3 LEAP-1B engines through a combination of sale and leaseback and commercial debt financing according to the reports published in gulfnews.com.
Operationally, 17 new aircraft joined the carrier’s fleet in 2022, growing its fleet by 25 per cent compared to the previous year. The airline ended 2022 with 74 aircraft: 32 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800, 39 Boeing 737 MAX 8, and 3 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
