flydubai expands footprint in Central and Southeast Europe with five new route launches

The addition of these new destinations brings the total number of routes launched so far this year to 23, the most routes launched in one year since flydubai began operations in 2009.

Commenting on the expansion into this key market, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: "The launch of our five new destinations across Central and Southeast Europe is a reflection of flydubai's commitment to providing passengers with flexible and convenient travel options in response to increased market demand. We are pleased to be able to enhance connectivity from this region to the wider Middle East, GCC, Africa, Caucasus, Central Asia, Europe and the Indian Subcontinent, totaling a population of over 2.5 billion."

Passengers travelling in Economy Class on flydubai's new Boeing aircraft can access the interactive in-flight entertainment system with more than 1,100 hours of films, television and music. Flights across all new routes will depart from the conveniently located, and recently upgraded, Terminal 2 at Dubai International, the world's second busiest airport which served more than 66 million passengers in 2013.

Customers will also have the option of a Business Class experience with comfortable, spacious Italian leather seats and a range of in-flight entertainment and dining options. Business Class customers will also benefit from priority check-in service as well as a dedicated 24-hour Business Team to assist with bookings and enquiries throughout the journey.

Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President Commercial at flydubai said: "Our Business Class service was launched in October 2013 in response to a demand from our passengers to provide a more personal flying experience with priority service on the ground. One year on, we have added our first flydubai Business Lounge at Terminal 2, further enhancing the experience for our customers."

flydubai passengers now have access to a choice of historic and culturally rich cities, with convenient travel links to the wider Europe region. These new destinations provide year round travel options from spectacular mountain scenery with a choice of ski resorts to rivers, lakes and beautiful coastlines.

In addition to Dubai's extensive investment in infrastructure, with airports rivalling those of established air transport centres around the world, the UAE Government has introduced visa on arrival services for 46 European nationalities including Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria and Slovakia, to ease travel and stimulate bilateral business and tourism exchanges.

The new services respond to growing demand for affordable and reliable connectivity through Dubai and these new destinations will link travellers to flydubai's wider network, which totals 89 destinations across 46 countries. Passengers will also benefit from Dubai's efficient aviation hub providing opportunity for onward travel to more than 200 destinations.

flydubai recently announced the addition of three new routes to its growing network. Flights to Chennai in India, Hargeisa in Somaliland and Nejran in KSA will commence in the first quarter of 2015.

flydubai has a fleet of 43 new Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft and operates more than 1,200 flights a week across the Middle East, GCC, Africa, Caucasus, Central Asia, Europe and the Indian Subcontinent.