© Radim Strobl |
Flydubai has had an interesting week – but the drama on the Tel Aviv flight rather overshadowed its launch of a freighter service in a bid to catch growing demand for ecommerce, specialised shipments and regional trade ill-served by narrowbody belly capacity.
Yesterday, the airline introduced three B737-800 freighters, each capable of carrying 23 tonnes of payload, giving flydubai Cargo its own scheduled capacity for the first time.
“We have seen strong demand across our network, driven by expanding ecommerce and logistics volumes,” Mohamed Hassan, SVP of airport services and cargo, explained to The Loadstar.
The freighter operations will target high-demand routes such as Doha, Kuwait, Erbil, Almaty, Karachi, Mumbai, Delhi, Hanoi, and Nairobi, with additional destinations as demand builds.
Concurrently, Mr Hassan said partners moving pharmaceuticals, perishables, live animals, dangerous goods, and aerospace components were increasingly demanding dedicated, planned capacity rather than residual space on passenger aircraft.
“Bellyhold capacity alone could not deliver the certainty, scheduling flexibility, and specialised handling our customers now require,” he said.
Mr Hassan added that from October, flydubai Cargo will run its own schedule for the first time, supported by a 10-product portfolio designed around different shipment types, ranging from time-critical pharmaceuticals to high-volume general cargo, as the airline prepares for rising demand ahead of the Q4 peak season.
The three 737-800Fs are based at Al Maktoum International (DWC), which will provide dedicated airside infrastructure and direct access to Dubai’s multimodal logistics network. Flydubai Cargo will operate both point-to-point charter flights and scheduled freighter services across its network.
Cargo flows through Dubai are expected to be balanced in both directions, with outbound volumes led by ecommerce, electronics, and general trade, while fresh produce is the strongest inbound category. Express shipments are moving in both directions – a two-way flow “that makes Dubai the right hub for this operation”, explained Mr Hassan, “and we will continue to scale both frequency and network reach in line with operational capacity and customer demand.”
Under a wet-lease agreement, Dubai-based SolitAir will provide the three 737-800Fs along with crew, maintenance, and insurance, while flydubai Cargo will manage the capacity commercially. Mr Hassan said the arrangement allowed flydubai to target underserved markets requiring main-deck capacity while deploying the freighters immediately, avoiding the longer lead times associated with acquiring aircraft.
According to the airline, each freighter will add 23 tonnes of main-deck payload capacity per flight, complementing the bellyhold capacity across flydubai’s fleet of more than 90 737 passenger aircraft, with more capacity to follow as its first widebodies – 30 B787s – enter service.
Mr Hassan said the 737Fs were well-suited to meet current market requirements, “giving flydubai greater flexibility to meet rising demand and unlock new opportunities across the network”.
He added: “Our customers who prioritise speed, reliability and direct access over larger single-shipment capacity will benefit from higher frequencies, faster delivery times, and more direct connectivity to the markets we operate to.”
As the market grows, flydubai plans to scale-up its cargo operations, expanding capacity where it supports network growth, customer requirements, and long-term fleet planning. It will also evaluate passenger-to-freighter (P2F) retrofits from 2029 onwards as part of a wider cargo growth strategy.
“As bellyhold capacity and the added freighter capacity absorb near-term demand, future conversions will become the next lever, once the case for additional dedicated freighter capacity is established,” said Mr Hassan.