So far, the Emirates sister company Flydubai has been a loyal Boeing customer. Now it is clear that this does not always have to be the case. According to National News, negotiations are in progress with both the Americans and Airbus about a possible large order.

The carrier wants to wrap this up by the end of the current year. It is expected that a possible order could also be announced for prestige reasons during the Dubai Airshow, which will take place in November 2023 this year. Both the expansion of the existing Boeing 737 Max fleet and an order for aircraft from the Airbus A320neo series are being considered.

For both aircraft manufacturers, it should be quite relevant to be able to land the bulk order, because Flydubai has so far been "Boeing-Land". The carrier currently operates 30 B737-800s, 43 B737-Max-8s and three B737-Max-9s. For the Americans, it should be relevant that the Emirates sister company can be kept as a regular customer, and for Airbus it would be an interesting opportunity to be able to win over a good customer from Boeing.

However, the company admits to National News that global demand is currently so high that manufacturers have the upper hand. "I'd like to close something by the end of the year, hopefully before the Dubai Air Show," said Al Ghaith, CEO. "We have a good pipeline of aircraft, but in our business we don't stand still, we need to buy aircraft at the right time to get the best possible price."

It was also recently announced that Flydubai will in future offer so-called business class suites on selected aircraft. The company wants to appeal to other customer groups and promises that they will offer the same comfort as comparable products on board widebodies.