flydubai finishes First Farnborough with Two New Orders Worth US$750m

flydubai rounded off its first trip to the Farnborough Air Show with a package of orders totalling US$750 million for engines and winglets.

In the first part of the deal, flydubai signed with CFM International, a 50/50 JV between Snecma and GE, for 50 CFM56-7B engines to power the 50 Boeing 737-800/900s ordered on the first day of the air show.

The engines, valued at US$700m at list prices, are the Tech Insertion configuration, which provide operators with lower fuel consumption, lower emissions and lower maintenance costs. The engine's 1% improvement in fuel consumption lowers CO2 emissions, ensuring a reduction of 200 tonnes per aircraft per year.

Muhammad Al-Lamadani, CFMI Senior Executive - Regional sales for the Middle East, Eastern Europe and CIS, said, "We are delighted to provide the very reliable CFM56-7B engines to flydubai for its 50 737 aircraft. The high reliability and low operating costs of the CFM56-7B powered 737s will be critical to help this new airline get off the ground. In addition, we will bring the full force of our world-class customer and product support organization to bear to help ensure the airline has a very smooth start-up."

In a separate deal, flydubai also signed an agreement worth US$50million for blended winglets from Aviation Partners Boeing (APB). The blended winglets, which are for the 737-800s, add an extra 1.4m to the wingspan of the aircraft and offer a range of environmental benefits, including reduced fuel consumption and lower noise emissions.

Christopher Stafford, Director of Sales, Aviation Partners Boeing, said, "Blended Winglets will save flydubai up to 4% of the total fuel burn on their new fleet of Next Generation 737s. This improvement usually equates to an annual fuel saving of between 75,000 - 125,000 gallons per aircraft per year. While the payback period typically varies between 1 - 3 years, depending upon aircraft utilization, stage lengths and fuel costs, the dramatic fuel savings benefits of Blended Winglet Technology are with you for the life of the aircraft."

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive of flydubai, added, "This combination of engines and winglets means we will be operating aircraft that are as kind to the environment as possible. With the winglets our 737s will be operating with a lower fuel burn and a reduction in NOx emissions of almost 5%. The winglets also provide a 6.5% reduction in the noise affected area on take off. When you put that together with the reductions in CO2 emissions that we will have from the engines, our 737s we will be among the most environmentally friendly aircraft flying today."

flydubai is a new low cost carrier that was started by the government of Dubai in March of this year. The airline is expected to begin commercial operations next summer.

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