Flydubai, a low-cost airline company from the UAE, increased transportation of passengers between Ukraine and Dubai by 26% in 2016. The airline’s total passenger number on this route increased by 14.4% to 10.4 million during the year, the airline reported.
In addition, the airline’s passenger numbers increased by 23% in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan), 22% in the Indian subcontinent, 19% in Europe, 3% in Russia, and 3% in Africa.
The data for business-class passengers paint a different picture. “The subcontinent saw the strongest demand for business class, carrying more than double the number of passengers. This was followed by the Caucasus which grew by 88%, as a result of a liberalization of the visa rules, creating an increased demand from both inbound and outbound traffic flows," the airline said. The number of business-class passengers increased by 38% in Europe and 24% in the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries.
The airline reported total revenue of USD 1.37 billion for 2016, an increase of 2.4% compared to the same period last year. At the same time, its profit reduced by three-fold to USD 8.6 million.
As reported, flydubai began flying to Ukraine in September 2011. The airline currently operates flights from Dubai to Kyiv (Zhulyany) and Odesa. The airline increased the frequency of its flights to these destinations in 2016. It flies to Zhulyany 17 times a week and to Odesa three times a week. The airline previously operated flights on the routes Dubai-Kharkiv-Dubai and Dubai-Donetsk-Dubai. These routes were closed after the beginning of the conflict in the Donbas.
