Sudhir Sreedharan, senior vice president commercial (GCC, Subcontinent, Africa), flydubai speaks on how the airline is committed to offering Indian passengers convenient, reliable and affordable travel to Dubai and beyond. By Sudipta Dev
In the over-crowded India – Dubai sector, how do you think flydubai has created a distinct brand identity among Indian travellers?
flydubai’s offering of connectivity, flexibility and convenience is what sets us apart from other carriers. flydubai operates 30 weekly flights to Dubai from eight destinations in India namely Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. Travellers can take advantage of our extensive network of more than 85 destinations across 43 countries. We enable travellers to explore new destinations as our network includes 59 new routes that did not previously have direct air links to Dubai or were not served by a UAE national carrier from Dubai. In terms of flexibility, flydubai’s unique product offerings allows travellers to choose if they wish to travel no frills or avail of value added offerings like additional baggage, meals, inflight entertainment which are the characteristics of a full service carrier.
In the next two years which are the other Tier II and Tier III cities in India you are looking at connecting with Dubai?
India is a significant market for flydubai and we are keen on expanding our footprint further and tapping the unexplored potential of the aviation sector. We are committed to offering passengers from India with convenient, reliable and affordable travel to Dubai and further afield on the flydubai network. Having said that, we work within the bilateral agreement discussed at a government level.
In terms of forward connectivity what are the advantages for Indian travellers?
flydubai offers Indian travellers connectivity to popular destinations as well as underserved or previously unconnected markets. For instance, we now connect India to Tblisi in Georgia, which wasn’t accessible directly earlier. We also have one of the most comprehensive and well served networks in the GCC. Out of the 18 points that we operate to in GCC, 13 are in Saudi Arabia. We also have high frequencies to Kuwait and Doha with 12 and nine weekly flights respectively. For onward connections, travellers can transfer in Dubai to another flydubai flight without collecting their baggage in Dubai and without a UAE visa using the flydubai connect service. Business Class passengers can relax and rejuvenate at the flydubai Business Lounge located at Terminal 2 of the Dubai International Airport.
Your focus on service excellence.
We are committed to enhance our product offerings, which is why we are constantly listening to our customers to gain valuable feedback from them. The introduction of our various offerings such as the Business Class, a refreshed website interface, WiFi and live television streaming onboard are a few examples of what we have done to ensure that our travellers have a convenient and comfortable personal experience.
What is your promotion strategy for this market?
India is an important market for flydubai and we are continuously exploring avenues to offer our customers the best value in what we offer. Travellers get an opportunity to connect to and explore over 85 destinations across 43 countries on our network from the eight destinations in India that we operate from. Our connectivity to destinations that were previously underserved or unconnected from Dubai allows travellers to conveniently travel to these points. Our continuous innovations on board through the introduction of the Business Class, flexible travel options and an enhanced entertainment system enables us to offer a complete package that is of convenience to the traveller, affordable and succeeds in exceeding expectations.