Al Mansouri: Flydubai establishes premier position in low cost aviation sector

He said the company has launched a number of international routes including a new destination to the Azeri capital, Baku starting on Friday, November 20. He said this achievement reflects the strength of the economy and the aviation sector's growth regionally and intern`ationally.

Mr Al Mansouri said that the airline will have 12 destinations by the end of this year and will receive its sixth aircraft in December, adding that the new destination will enhance economic relations between the two countries. He said relations between the UAE and Azerbaijan have witnessed significant development in recent years led by the signing of an agreement for economic, commercial and technical cooperation in 2006.

The non-oil trade exchange between the UAE and Azerbaijan increased by 21% from $147m in 2002 to $318m in 2006. The total export and re-export from the country to Azerbaijan grew by 22% from $143m to $316m.

Mr Al Mansouri said the new destination is the result of bilateral agreement that the UAE recently signed with the Azeri Minister of Transport, which also includes future cooperation between the two countries in various fields of transportation.

The two parties stressed on the importance of facilitating and increasing transportation between the two countries, and enhancing cooperation in implementing and applying the latest technologies in the sector. This comes as result of the fruitful meetings and great efforts exerted by the government authorities in both countries in Baku in 2003 and in Dubai in 2007 including the launch new air routes, strengthening infrastructure and building a cooperation framework in the transport business.

Flydubai, Dubai's first low cost airline, will expand its network into the former Soviet Union for the first time on Friday, November 20, when it commences flights to Baku.

According to a release from the airline, the flight, FZ705, will leave Dubai at 1935hrs arriving in Baku after 2hrs 55 minutes at 2230hrs local time. The return flight, FZ706, will depart Baku at 2330hrs and arrive in Dubai at 0220hrs local time the following day.