Cheap flights lure the Middle East
Jeffrey Todd
- Last Updated: July 24. 2010 12:54PM UAE / July 24. 2010 8:54AM GMT
In just over a year, flydubai has expanded its network from two destinations to 22 – including last week’s inaugural flight to Erbil, above – and carried more than a million passengers around the region. Galen Clarke / The National
When Chantel and Faifal Devilliers were invited to a friend’s wedding in Amman, Jordan, last month, they looked forward to celebrating the occasion in a new part of the world.
But they were less keen on the travel costs. Leaving on Thursday night and returning on Saturday, the young professionals couldn’t take time off from work, and they didn’t relish the thought of paying thousands of dirhams on airfares.
“It was just a weekend and we didn’t have time to even see anything,” Mrs Devilliers says, who works full time as an assisant for a business development company in Abu Dhabi. “We had never used a budget airline before, but friends of ours had just got back from Doha and said ticket prices were cheap.”
She says they paid Dh800 each for the return journey to Amman with flydubai (
www.flydubai.com). A similar journey on full-service airlines, such as Emirates and Etihad, would cost several hundred dirhams more.
However, prices will vary based on the time of year, promotions and how early you make a booking.
Mrs Devilliers, from South Africa, admits that she would never use a budget airline to travel home to see family and friends. But for trips around the region, the cheaper option is ideal. She and her husband are now planning a second trip to Amman with flydubai – and this time they’ll take in the sights.
As the Emirates settles into the sweltering summer, thousands of people like the Devilliers are travelling abroad to relax and unwind. For those who are seeking a summer getaway for less and aren’t picky about perks, flying with a low-cost airline is a way of enjoying that holiday for a much lower cost.
In Europe, budget carriers such as Ryanair and EasyJet have been major players on the aviation scene for more than 20 years. But this business model is a relatively new phenomenon in the UAE.
Over the past few years, cheap travel has exploded in popularity as more and more passengers embrace the no-frills experience and take advanage of the savings.
Air Arabia (
www.airarabia.com/home), with its primary hub at Sharjah International Airport, became the first budget airline in the Middle East and North Africa when it launched in October 2003. It now offers flights to more than 65 destinations, with a current fleet of 23 new Airbus A320s and 44 more on order. The carrier recently signed a joint-venture agreement with Tantash Group in Jordan to establish its fourth hub in Amman, adding to the airline’s other centres in Sharjah, Casablanca, Morocco, and Alexandria, Egypt.
The move will further expand the airline’s direct service to a range of destinations across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Adel Ali, the chief executive of Air Arabia, believes people are slowly changing the way they look at flying.
“Air travel across the globe has become, more than ever, a commercial commodity and not a luxury,” says Mr Ali. “This industry has been continuously growing and people are dependent on air travel more than any other method of transportation. Air travel is set to grow, led by the low-cost carriers offering value for money.”
Meanwhile, flydubai celebrated its one-year anniversary last month, and announced it had registered nearly one million bookings since its inception.
After it was launched in June last year, flydubai says it has experienced a 33 per cent rise in traffic from Dubai to Beirut, while travel to Amman has increased by 40 per cent. On average, the airline has launched a new route every two-and-a-half weeks and it now flies to 22 cities across the region. The company expects to increase its destinations to 25 by the end of the year, many of which are off the beaten track.
Last week, flydubai commenced twice-weekly flights to Erbil, Iraq, in an effort to tap the business and tourism now trickling into the troubled nation. It also announced a Ramadan promotion that gives passengers travelling between August 15 and September 6 a 100 per cent reimbursement on the fare in the form of a voucher, which can be redeemed on any flight until December 8, 2010.
Ghaith al Ghaith, the chief executive of flydubai, agrees that there has been a recent shift in how passengers take to the skies.
“Ticket prices for the short sector were not reasonably affordable to the normal people,” he says.
“That was an inheritance of the old structure of travelling and now we’re finding people are willing to travel a short distance and don’t need luxury. They are willing to accept an adjustment in luxury because they get so much for the price. The more you make your price affordable, the more you will encourage people to travel.”
Other countries in the region are also offering the no-frills experience at low prices, such as Jazeera Airways in Kuwait (
www.jazeeraairways.com) and Bahrain Air (
www.bahrainair.net).
Iain Akerman, from Portsmouth in the UK, says he ended up in Khartoum, Sudan, last April after receiving an e-mail alert from flydubai at work that advertised a return fare of just Dh350 to the north-eastern African city. Mr Akerman, 38, who works for a publishing company in Dubai, had signed up for the e-mail service on the company’s website a few weeks before and at that price, he decided to take Thursday off and enjoy a long weekend in Africa.
“You’re not bothered by having to spend thousands of dirhams just to go somewhere close by,” he says. “I’ve flown with flydubai three or four times recently – Damcascus and Amman, for example. One of the reasons I came to Dubai was to travel around the region and low-cost airlines allow me to do it cheaply.”
Before Khartoum, he says that he travelled with his wife to Damascus, Syria, also on flydubai, which cost them a total of Dh1,000 return. In the past, Mr Akerman says he has also used Air Arabia to visit places in the region, such as Bahrain, last year.
At the end of the month, Mr Akerman plans on taking to the skies once more, this time to Beirut for another weekend adventure.
“I wouldn’t consider it normally because it’s too expensive,” he admits.
“I don’t want to spend Dh2,000 or more for one ticket. I’m trying to save money this summer.”
Emma Lucas is of a similar mind. After being made redundant in February, the Dubai resident clamped down on her spending.
She has since found employment as a project administrator, but she’s now intent on squirrelling away dirhams to guard against any future setbacks.
But a weekend trip last month to Beirut for her 35th birthday was a notable exception, especially with a discounted fare on flydubai. The getaway with five close friends cost her a reasonable Dh1,300.
“I used to fly EasyJet in Europe,” says Ms Lucas, who has lived in Dubai for three years. “When I took trips here in the past I would drive because it’s cheaper to places like Fujeirah or Oman. Fortunately, now I can fly to more places by using budget airlines. You get what you pay for and I’m used to doing that.”
Of course, all of these savings come with a catch.
Remember, full-service airlines flying out of the UAE, such as Emirates Airline and Etihad, will likely include a hot meal, a personal entertainment system and more legroom.
Accepting the no-frills approach on Air Arabia and flydubai is essential for any prospective passenger and the rules and conditions may vary based on your airline of choice.
On flydubai, for example, Ms Lucas says that she wasn’t “terribly impressed” with having to pay Dh60 for her one piece of checked luggage, which can weigh no more than 32kg. If she hadn’t pre-purchased the checked bag on the internet, the fee at the airport would have been Dh150.
Ms Devilliers says that’s what happened to her husband, who arrived at the flydubai counter without realising the conditions. In the future, she says they’ll be more careful and pre-purchase any luggage online.
“My husband didn’t like having to pay for luggage. That was a bit of a surprise,” she says.
A second checked bag on flydubai costs an additional Dh150, and Dh500 if the extra cargo isn’t pre-purchased and registered during the online booking. However, customers are given a generous hand-luggage allowance of 10kg.
Ms Lucas was also required to pay Dh5 to select her seat beside one of her friends on the plane.
On Air Arabia, checked luggage is free of charge and the weight can be between 20kg and 30kg, depending on the destination. To select a seat on this airline, passengers can expect to spend Dh20 to Dh40, which is based on the final destination.
Seat selection and your first piece of checked luggage are both complimentary services on Etihad and Emirates Airlines.
There are many optional payments on flydubai and Air Arabia. If reaching Sharjah International Airport is an issue and you don’t want to spend hundreds of dirhams on a taxi, Air Arabia offers a shuttle service from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah for about Dh40 one way and Dh80 return. Buses leave several times a day and travellers should check the company’s website for schedules and pick-up points.
With flydubai, another popular add-on is to upgrade your legroom by 22cm for Dh100, rather than cope with the standard range of 74cm to 79cm. You can also sign up for the “pay to change” fare, which gives you the freedom and flexiblity to change or cancel a flight for Dh100 per person, although any alterations to the booking must be done 24 hours before departure.
According to Mr al Ghaith, this model helps to keep costs down for consumers and allows them to pay for only what they use. When it comes to checked luggage, he points out that many flydubai customers prefer to take just carry-on bags on their flights, especially considering most trips in the region are only for a few days.
“Why should you pay for luggage when you aren’t carrying any bags?” he says.
“Forty-four per cent of those who travel with us do not carry luggage and they are saving as a result.”
While the added luggage costs was an unpleasant surprise for the Devilliers and Ms Lucas, the system doesn’t bother Mr Akerman as he tends to pack light.
“I’ve never taken more luggage,” he says. “Because it’s a short period of time, I just take hand luggage. It’s much faster and I don’t wait for bags. The only downside I see is you don’t get any food or entertainment on these flights. But for three or four hours it’s fine. If you want food, for example, you can buy it.”
The in-flight meal is rarely delectable when flying economy class, but if decent food is important to you, there are noticable differences between the UAE’s two budget airlines.
Air Arabia features the Sky Cafe, which allows you to pre-select your food prior to travelling. The menu has everything from basic items, such as soft drinks, juices, crisps and chocolate bars (costing between Dh5 to Dh10), to more substantial meals, such as chicken biryani (Dh30), smoked turkey subs (Dh20), vegetable pizza with salad (Dh25) and veggie snacks, including quesadila, spring rolls and cheese fries (Dh30).
On flydubai, passengers are offered a range of sandwiches and cold snacks, with chocolate bars and soft drinks falling within a similar price range as Air Arabia (Dh5 to Dh10) and bigger items such as a lamb wrap (Dh20), vegetable wrap (Dh15), egg sandwich (Dh10) and a Zaatar chicken sandwich (Dh15).
So if a more substantial meal is a must and you’d like to be served without ordering on the plane, Air Arabia’s Sky Cafe could tip the scales as your budget airline of choice.
And don’t forget the baggage allowance, flight times and legroom. All of these factors may influence your next summer getaway.
But for Mr Akerman, the only criteria is price.
“The no frills doesn’t bother me at all,” he says. “You can’t go wrong, if you ask me. You can get anywhere for mostly nothing. You’d be mad not to use them.”