Dubai's two mainline carriers, the full-service Emirates (EK, Dubai International) and its low-cost sister flydubai (FZ, Dubai International), are set to boost their commercial ties over the next eighteen months as their owner, the Government of Dubai, seeks to improve their profitability.
According to Reuters, Emirates President Tim Clark told reporters this week that among the initiatives being considered are coordinated feeder flights with either carrier tapping into the other's passenger traffic. A joint decision on scheduling is also being looked into to soften head-to-head competition in some markets, he said.
Despite their proximity, the two carriers only have an interline agreement at present.
Commenting on Emirates' plan to eventually shift its operations from Dubai International to Dubai World Central, Clark said delays in expansion works at World Central had had a knock on effect. Whereas Emirates had intended to move there by 2025, the delays have now pushed this back to until sometime between 2026 and 2030.
Clark also said that Emirates is interested in Airbus's recently unveiled A380plus proposal which includes new winglets and refinements to the A380's wing’s aerodynamics. Collectively, the improvements will reduce the type's fuel-burn by 4% thus generating an overall 13% cost per seat reduction. The carrier's interest would pique even further if the option were to be offered as a retrofit as opposed to a new-build only feature, he told Arabian Aerospace.
