flydubai reported historic profit of $327 million an increase of 43% as compared to 2021. These numbers reflect the airline’s strong business model built on cost efficiency and agility, the airline said in a statement announcing the annual results for year ending December 31, 2022.
The airline reported a total annual revenue of $2,5bn compared with $1.4bn in 2021 reporting a rise of 72%. The airline carried over 10.6 million passengers reporting in increase of 89% as compared to 2021.
Commenting on the financial results, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman, flydubai, said: “flydubai’s record performance for 2022 is a direct result of the carrier’s strong business model as well as its adaptability and agility during challenging times which has cemented its position as a key contributor to the success of Dubai’s aviation hub. flydubai remained committed to maintaining the highest levels of cost and operational efficiencies while preserving and growing its workforce over the past two years.”
Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer, flydubai said: “We realised early on the great opportunities that Dubai provides and remained focused and ready to scale up our operations once the demand for travel returned. Our resilient financial stance enabled us to maintain positive cash flows and not require the government aid that was available to us during the pandemic.”
The airline reported cash equivalent including pre-delivery payments for future aircraft deliveries, to be AED 4.3 billion as compared to AED 3.8 bn last year.
In 2022, flydubai secured financing for 20 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and 3 LEAP-1B engines through a combination of sale and leaseback and commercial debt financing.
The airline launched 16 routes and ended the year with a network of 114; reaffirming its commitment to strengthening direct airlinks from underserved markets in the region with Dubai.
flydubai took delivery of 17 new aircraft reporting a record number of deliveries received in one year in the history of the airline. The airline grew its fleet by 25% compared to the previous year, the airline ended 2022 with 74 aircraft.
To meet the surge in demand for travel and add capacity, flydubai signed an Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) agreement with Smartwings for four wet leased aircraft in the last quarter of the year, which saw the carrier operate 78 aircraft across its network by the end of the year.