flydubai’s next stop - Mumbai

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO, flydubai, says VoA is a game changer for India and the right tool to empower the travel and trade community, who he calls the brand ambassadors of the country.

When flydubai started operations in India, what prompted you to start a route in Lucknow?

Indian travel trade is your ambassador abroad. They include the people who understand the business and should be empowered

to grow their business

Ghaith Al Ghaith

CEO, flydubai

It’s all about opportunity. As far as we are concerned, we are governed by bilateral agreements between the two countries. When we started the airlines, we got an opportunity, and based on that agreement, we could fly to Lucknow. That’s what we are all about in flydubai. It’s about giving people the opportunity that is not there. We are very proud of our flight to Lucknow as it gave the people of Lucknow access to Dubai and other markets.

You started with operations in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Lucknow and have now opened operations to Delhi, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, any other routes that you’ll be opening?

Based on the current bilateral agreement, we will be adding Mumbai to our current routes. Our bilateral rights extend over the next 12 months so we will add Mumbai in the next season. We are hoping that based on the success of our flights and the growth that is foreseen between the two countries, our two governments can agree on more flights.

How closely have you been monitoring the Indian aviation market?

We have been monitoring the Indian aviation market very closely. For us, the Indian market and our market are like one market and we are always very keen on the Indian market.

What are the challenges in the Indian aviation market?

As far as the Indian aviation market is concerned, the challenge is to provide the exact capacity required. It is difficult to create business between Dubai and India because virtually, it’s a very close market. Also, it’s almost like one market and there is also demand. We have cultural and trade links that are closer than any other points in the region. The more flights you add, the more people will travel and looking forward, UAE is India’s largest trading partner in the region and the potential for all the new projects coming up in our country gives a huge opportunity for Indian and UAE business people to link up. We believe that can be translated into more opportunities for flights.

The Indian government has announced that India will be opening VoA facilities to the rest of the world except a few countries, how do you receive the news?

Visa on Arrival is a game changer. India is diversified; the more you make it easier for people to come, the more tourism will boom. From our part of the world, more people will come not just

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for tourism purposes but also for medical tourism. Lately more people frequent Thailand for medical tourism as they have Visaon-Arrival facility. We wish the Indian government all the best and this is what the airlines also need.

How important is the Indian travel trade for you?

Indian travel trade is your ambassador abroad. They include the people who understand the business and should be empowered to grow their business. I met some representatives from the Indian travel trade during the last ATM and they are a promising lot. If the government empowers them more, that’ll definitely drive tourism business. They need to be empowered with legislations to increase their business. Decisions like VoA will have a huge contribution. More hotels should be built; more routes should be opened - not just in metros but also in smaller cities. The more smaller airports are opened, the more it will support trade and tourism.

Do you plan any partnerships with India-based airlines?

The aviation industry is huge and presents a great opportunity. Partnering with an Indian airline is a must but I translate partnering as having a commercial relationship with them. Investing in an Indian airline is also a very good and wise decision. With India being one of the largest economies in the world and being more flexible on tourism, there’ll be an influx of travellers to and from the country and the aviation industry will benefit from it and so will investment in that sector. We, as an airline, try to make sure that we make our airline successful. As we are just 5 years old, our mandate is to focus on our operations in Dubai, but, in future, if any such opportunity comes in, then we are keen to look at it.