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Flydubai on Monday (May 6) said it has launched a retrofit project that will see a complete upgrade of the cabin interior for the majority of its next-generation Boeing aircraft.

The multi-million dollar retrofit programme is set to be completed before the end of the year.

Flydubai operates 29 Boeing 737-800, 54 737 MAX 8 and 03 737 MAX 9 aircraft. The airline also added two new aircraft in 2024, growing its fleet to 86 Boeing 737 aircraft.

Six more aircraft are expected to be delivered by the end of the year, amid the ongoing challenges in the supply chain causing delays in its aircraft delivery schedule.

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Flydubai lie-flat Business Class seat

In a statement on Monday at the Arabian Travel Market, the airline revealed that the multi-million dollar retrofit project was launched in January this year, with eight aircraft having had a full cabin makeover.

The carrier’s cabins now sport a fresh look due to the installation of lie-flat Business Class seats, as well as the new Economy seats from Recaro that mirror the cabin product on its newer aircraft in the fleet.

All the retrofitted aircraft will be equipped with in-flight entertainment, ensuring a more cohesive and consistent travel experience for passengers.

The airline will retain an all-economy configuration on some of its aircraft, upgrading the seats to the new Recaro Economy seats that feature in-flight entertainment.

Flydubai Economy Class cabin

The airline will also increase the seat pitch on its recliner Business Class seat product on some of its newer aircraft from 45 to 53 inches. This project will be rolled out after the summer for a more comfortable travel experience on shorter to medium-haul flights.

5m passengers

Flydubai reported carrying nearly five million passengers this year until April 28, a 13 per cent increase over the same period last year, thanks to its increased network capacity.

It has a network of more than 125 destinations in 58 countries, more than 90 of these routes did not have direct air links to Dubai or were not served by a UAE national carrier from Dubai.

Its Colombo frequency was increased to 28 flights per week this year as compared to 21 per week last year. Similarly, Doha frequency was increased to 42 flights per week, compared to 21 per week last year; Krakow increased from a daily to 10 flights per week; Milan service has increased from a five-weekly service to a daily service and will see this frequency double during the peak summer period.

Growing operations

The airline’s operations grew further in Southeast Asia with the addition of Malaysia, and the ongoing expansion in the African and European markets in particular, said Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of Flydubai.

“The added capacity has seen more passengers travel with us since the beginning of this year even though this growth has been dampened by the ongoing delays in aircraft deliveries,” he said.

We are still on track for one of the busiest summers on record with the start of the seasonal summer schedule from June. Our focus for the coming few months is the ambitious retrofit project across the fleet which will ensure an elevated and more consistent onboard experience for our customers,” he added.

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