flydubai marks Africa expansion with Kinshasa inaugural

flydubai is the first national carrier for the UAE to create direct air links to the Congolese capital, Kinshasa

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 15, 2018/ Dubai-based carrier launches daily flights to Kinshasa with enroute stop in Entebbe flydubai’s network in Africa grows to 13 destinations across 10 countries.
Dubai-based flydubai’s inaugural flight touched down today at N’djili Airport (Kinshasa International Airport – FIH). flydubai will operate daily flights to N’djili Airport with an enroute stop in Entebbe.

flydubai is the first national carrier for the UAE to create direct air links to the Congolese capital, Kinshasa and with the start of the service sees its comprehensive network in Africa grow to 13 destinations in 10 countries.

With the start of flights to Kinshasa another gateway is opened up for passengers from the GCC, Russia and the Indian Subcontinent into Central Africa.  Passengers from Kinshasa have access to more than 90 destinations on the flydubai network and through its codeshare partnership with Emirates https://www.Emirates.com”>www.Emirates.com can connect easily and conveniently to Emirates’ destinations spanning six continents in over 80 countries.

The inaugural flight touched down at 14:20 (local time) and on board was a delegation led by Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations (UAE, GCC, Indian Subcontinent & Africa) for flydubai. The delegation was met on arrival by Mr. Tshiumba Pmunga Jean, Director General, Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Kufula Makila Rex, Cabinet Director, Minister of Transport and Mr. Bilenge Abdala – General Director RVA- (Régie des Voies Aériennes).

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai, said on the launch of flights to Kinshasa: “As one of the largest and most populous cities in Africa, Kinshasa, is a key hub for travel and trade. Africa is one of the UAE’s emerging trade partners and with the opening of this new route to one of the busiest airports in the Democratic Republic of the Congo there will be further opportunities to strengthen commercial ties across a neighbouring continent with vast natural resources.”

The fast-growing economies of the countries of Africa are important trading markets for the UAE and their increasing prosperity will ensure that their contribution of visitor numbers to Dubai will similarly grow strongly.

Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations (UAE, GCC, Indian Subcontinent and Africa) at flydubai, who led the inaugural delegation, added: “Africa has been an important market for flydubai since the airline’s launch in 2009.  We continue to see strong demand for direct airlinks and last year flydubai contributed 13% of the total growth at Dubai Airports for the African market. I am pleased to see our network in Africa grow to 13 destinations in 10 countries with the launch today of flights to Kinshasa. With the start of the daily service from Dubai’s aviation hub to one of the largest countries in Africa, passengers will have access to increased connectivity.”

All flights to and from Kinshasa will offer travellers flydubai’s onboard experience, whether opting for priority services and more space and privacy in Business Class, or enjoying flexibility and convenience as a passenger in Economy Class.

flydubai will codeshare this route with Emirates. With the partnership, passengers can connect easily and conveniently to over 90 of flydubai’s destinations which complement the Emirates route network, spanning six continents in over 80 countries.

For bookings under the codeshare, Emirates passengers receive complimentary meals and the Emirates checked baggage allowance on flights operated by flydubai in Business and Economy classes.

In under 10 years, flydubai has grown an extensive network across Africa and currently offers flights to Addis Ababa, Alexandria, Asmara, Djibouti, Entebbe, Hargeisa, Juba, Khartoum and Port Sudan as well as Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar.

Business Class return fares will start at AED 6,000 (USD1580) and are inclusive of all taxes and 40kg checked baggage. Economy Class return fares will start at AED 2,700 (USD521) including 20kg checked baggage.

Flights can be booked through flydubai’s website (www.flydubai.com), the official flydubai App, Contact Centre in Dubai on (+971) 600 54 44 45, the flydubai travel shops or through our travel partners.

For more information about Holidays by flydubai, please visit: https://Holidays.flydubai.com/en

For the full timetable and fares, visit: www.flydubai.com/en/plan/timetable

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of flydubai.

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About flydubai
From its home in Dubai, flydubai (www.flydubai.com) has created a network of more than 100 destinations and over the next decade the airline will see its fleet grow by up to 296 aircraft. Since commencing operations in June 2009, flydubai has been committed to removing barriers to travel, creating free flows of trade and tourism and enhancing connectivity between different cultures across its ever-expanding network.

flydubai has marked its journey with a number of milestones that represent the scale of the ambition planned for the airline:
• An expanding network: Created a network of more than 100 destinations in 46 countries across Africa, Central Asia, The Caucasus, Eastern Europe, The GCC and The Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent.
• Serving underserved markets: Opened up more than 70 new routes that did not previously have direct air links to Dubai or were not served by a UAE national carrier from Dubai.
• An efficient single fleet-type: Operates a single fleet-type of 61 aircraft including Boeing 737 MAX 8 and Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
• Record-breaking orders: Placed the largest single-aisle aircraft orders in the region at the 2013 and 2017 editions of the Dubai Airshow.
• Enhancing connectivity: Carried 10.9 million passengers across its network in 2017.
Source: flydubai