Many airlines in the post covid era are having the peculiar issue of being able to keep up with rapidly rising air travel demand. This is also the case with low cost carrier FlyDubai. The UAE based airline in order to keep up with demand over the Christmas holiday season has just signed a wet lease agreement with Smartwings. Let’s find out more about the deal and who Smartwings is.
About the FlyDubai-Smartwings Wet Lease Deal
The Dubai based airline, FlyDubai, will be temporarily taking into its fleet 4 Smartwings planes. The agreement states that from October 17th 2023 to April 16th 2024 the UAE airline will receive 4 Boeing 737-800 in wet lease.
Therefore the arrival of these extra 4 planes will help FlyDubai cope with the extra traffic associated with the end of the year period.
Why Is It a Good Match?
FlyDubai will be able to integrate these planes into its operations without quite easily. The UAE airline operates an all 737 fleet comprised of:
- 30 Boeing 737-800
- 46 Boeing 737 MAX 9
- 3 Boeing 737 MAX 9
Smartwings on the other hand operates a fleet with a very heavy presence of Boeing 737-800s. These planes will fit in quite easily as their economy cabin is comparable to that offered on FlyDubai. The only issue is the fact that these planes don’t have a business class cabin.
Therefore passengers travelling on flights operated by Smartwings will get notified in advance beforehand.
What Kind Of An Airline is Smartwings?
Smartwings is a low cost carrier, just as FlyDubai is, which however mainly focuses on serving leisure destinations from major eastern European cities.
The airline operates most of its flights from Czechia two main airports:
- Prague (PRG)
- Brno (BRQ)
The airline also holds a 30% stake in what is left of the Czech flag carrier CSA.
Which FlyDubai Routes Will The Smartwings Planes Fly?
The 4 Smartwings planes that will join FlyDubai on a wet lease agreement will only fly on a limited selection of routes, including:
- Chattogram
- Colombo
- Dhaka
- Muscat
Add Comment