Hybrid carrier Flydubai is “very likely” to announce new seasonal routes to the former Yugoslavia in the next month with both Dubrovnik and Ljubljana in contention. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News at the Dubai Airshow yesterday, Flydubai’s Senior Vice President for Commercial Operations, Jeyhun Efendi, said, “In the next one month we will be announcing our set of new summer destinations and a lot of European routes are coming, especially in the South. We can't talk about them right now but some of them that have been mentioned, like Dubrovnik and Ljubljana, may be in our network".  As EX-YU Aviation News learns, the airline has also held talks with several other airports along the Croatian coast this year. Despite considering Tuzla as a potential new route, Mr Efendi noted that the carrier ultimately ruled out the city due to its close proximity to Sarajevo and the relatively small market.

Flydubai launched seasonal operations to both Podgorica and Tivat this year, with the latter to resume next summer. "Because Tivat is a summer destination we shifted to Podgorica via Sarajevo during the winter. Our aim is to evaluate the route to see if Podgorica can be sustained year-round. Obviously it's not a big city population-wise, but we want to see how the Sarajevo - Podgorica flights will perform as well. At the moment, we plan to resume flights to Tivat again next summer. So we will see if Podgorica can be sustained year-round or will we just shift between Tivat and Podgorica each season. The airports are not too far from each other so we are still evaluating", Mr Efendi said. Tivat has performed well for the airline this past summer. In addition to attracting tourists from the Gulf region visiting the Montenegrin coastline and holidaying at Porto Montenegro, the luxury Dubai-owned yacht marina and waterfront development, the route has attracted a significant number of passengers from Albania as well.

Flydubai is also working with Emirates to better optimise its network. Apart from a wide-ranging codeshare agreement between the two airlines, which now covers all routes in the former Yugoslavia, both are seeking ways to better coordinate their schedules and even swap some destinations, either permanently or on a seasonal basis. "In Zagreb we did not coordinate our suspension with Emirates. This was a coincidence. However, as part of our cooperation with Emirates, besides having codeshare flights, we are going to have more network coordination. Since we have narrow-body aircraft, we are able to operate more routes. Out of 95 routes, more than sixty are not operated by Emirates. Part of our plan is to adjust our schedules. We will also look at swapping some routes with Emirates, depending on the demand. There is also the option of seasonal flights. For example, somewhere where there is demand during the summer, you may need a bigger machine [Emirates], while during the winter you might need to downgrade to less capacity [Flydubai]", the Senior Vice President said.

Commenting on its overall network in the former Yugoslavia, Mr Efendi noted, "Some of the highlights are going daily into Belgrade this month, as well as the new flights to Podgorica via Sarajevo". He added, "Sarajevo is one of our more popular routes but it is quite seasonal. Presently, we have four weekly flights and then, during the summer, operations will reach three daily services. This summer we have seen almost 50% passenger growth on this route. Travellers on this service predominantly come from Dubai, as well as our connecting flights from the Gulf. This is obviously inbound tourism".

Flydubai is showcasing its new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft at the Dubai Airshow this week. The jet is the first of 76 on order from Boeing, all of which will be delivered by 2023. The new aircraft feature a brand new on board product including new business and economy class seating. However, travellers from the former Yugoslavia will have to exercise patients prior to sampling the new product. The aircraft will initially be deployed on the airline's longest routes including Bangkok, Prague, Yekaterinburg and Zanzibar. The additional aircraft being delivered over the next few years will be rolled out across the fleet and will eventually become available on most of the routes in the airline's network.