Jordan Becomes the Second Country to Welcome flydubai
flydubai, Dubai’s first low-cost airline, has started a second daily service in as many days, with the launch of flights to the Jordanian capital, Amman
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 — flydubai, Dubai’s first low-cost airline, has started a second daily service in as many days, with the launch of flights to the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Flight FZ-151 took off at 10:25 hrs this morning, June 2, and landed at Amman’s Queen Alia airport 3 hours and 25 minutes later, at 12:50 hrs local time.
The 189 passengers on board, including flydubai’s COO Ken Gile, were greeted in Amman by H.E. Eng Sultan Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, Jamal Al Hai, SVP Strategy and Development DCA and member of the Federal National Council of the UAE, and Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai.
“This is an historic moment,” said H.E Eng. Sultan Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy. “Today, we have witnessed flydubai’s first commercial flight to Amman. This marks the continuation of a new chapter in the history of UAE aviation, which began yesterday with flydubai’s first ever commercial flight,” he continued.
Special guests Amer Al Hadidi, Jordanian Minister of Industry & Trade, Sahel Al Majali, Jordanian Minister of Transportation and Mr. Curtis Grad, CEO of Airport International Group officially welcomed the flight and described the occasion as one that would help to cement the bond between Jordan and the UAE.
“We are delighted to welcome flydubai services from Dubai,” said Sahel Al Majali, Jordanian Minister of Transportation. “The opportunity for residents of both nations to travel is now much greater and flydubai will certainly play an extremely large part in bringing our people together for business and for pleasure,” he continued.
Following the successful launch of commercial operations yesterday, June 1st, with flydubai’s first-ever flight landing in Beirut, Dubai’s low-cost carrier is keen to quickly add to the number of destinations it serves. Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, outlined the airline’s strategy.
“We began our operations yesterday with flights to Lebanon and Jordan is a perfect addition to our schedule, as it is such a popular and important tourist and business destination,” he said. “We are committed to expanding our route network as quickly as possible and to offer our customers a wider choice of destinations,” he added.
Mr Al Ghaith continued by saying that flydubai was fulfilling its promise to make travel a little less complex, a little less stressful and a little less expensive. “flydubai’s second route is another step on the way to becoming the preferred low cost carrier for the Middle East,” he said. “We have a great commitment to our customers and a very simple aim – to give people more opportunity to get together regularly,” he said.
Business between Jordan and the UAE is becoming increasingly important, with bilateral trade last year rising to US$500 million. The UAE is one of the largest investors in Jordan, with interests worth more than US$2 billion. This is expected to rise to more than US$15 billion over the next four years thanks to the US$10 billion Marsa Zayed real estate development in Aqaba, the largest single project in Jordan’s recent history. Amer Al Hadidi, Jordanian Minister of Industry & Trade, stated his belief that flydubai would add value to the business community
“The commercial agreements we have with the UAE make the country our greatest trading partner and one of our closest Arab friends,” he said. “flydubai is a great way to bring Jordanians and Emiratis even closer together,” he added.
After launching services to Amman and Beirut, flydubai will begin daily flights to Damascus on 8 June and Alexandria on 9 June. More destinations will be announced in the near future.
Customers wishing to book their flights with flydubai can do so via the internet at www.flydubai.com, through the call centre on +9714 3010800, or at their nearest branch of Emirates Post.
