Chennai, India; 01 April 2015: Dubai-based flydubai today announced the commencement of its service to Chennai. Chennai becomes the eighth destination on flydubai’s network in India and is part of the continuous commitment to meet the increasing demand for travel between India and the United Arab Emirates.

Since flydubai’s started its service to Lucknow in 2010, the carrier’s first point in India, there has been a strong appetite for enhanced connectivity. The launch of the Chennai route will be served with three flights a week which will see flydubai operate a total of 29 weekly flights between Dubai and India.

Commenting on the start of the ninth route launched by flydubai since the beginning of this year, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “It has been our constant endeavour to provide greater convenience to our passengers travelling from India. The addition of Chennai to our network will provide the opportunity to visit Dubai more often and explore the flydubai network which we are already seeing from our other points in India. It will also provide the opportunity to connect, with the interline agreements we have in place, onwards through Dubai’s aviation hub. India has strong economic and cultural ties with the region and we are committed to enhancing connectivity between India and Dubai.”

flydubai is committed to creating free flows of trade and tourism in the region by opening up underserved markets as well as serving more mature markets, giving passengers more options whether travelling for leisure, visiting family and friends or for business. The carrier added four more routes in India in 2014 offering passengers from Dubai affordable travel options to Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.

Commenting on the inaugural flight to Chennai, Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Commercial (GCC, Subcontinent, Africa) at flydubai added, “flydubai sees India as a key market on its network and is committed to delivering the best, reliable travel options whether in economy or business class. With the launch of four new points in India in 2014, flydubai saw a 70% growth in passenger numbers and we are confident that this will significantly contribute to the growth of not only trade and tourism between the two countries but across the region.”

flydubai capitalises on the facilities and convenience of Dubai’s aviation hub to connect traffic between the different points on its network and further afield. Fifty five per cent (55%) of the overall passenger traffic from India is connecting onwards based on flydubai’s statistics for the past 12 months. Abha, Bahrain, Jeddah, Kiev, Kuwait and Moscow are some of the popular connections for passengers travelling from India.

Within India, in addition to Chennai, flydubai operates services to Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. Business class services are available on flights to Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.

Chennai Flight Details:
flydubai will operate 3 flights a week between Dubai and Chennai starting from 31 March 2015.

FZ447 is scheduled to depart Dubai International Terminal 2 at 22.05 hrs local time, landing in Chennai International Airport at 04.00 hrs local time. FZ448 is scheduled to depart Chennai International Airport at 04:45 hrs, arriving into Dubai at 07:35 hrs local time.

Round trip fares
Economy Class return fares from Chennai start at INR 14,000 including 20kg checked baggage, while Business Class return fares will start at INR 29,900 and are inclusive of all taxes and 40kg checked baggage.

Economy Class return fares to Chennai start at 900 AED including 20kg checked baggage, while Business Class return fares will start at 2,100 AED and are inclusive of all taxes and 40kg checked baggage.

Flight Number Frequency Airport Departure Time Arrival Time Flight Time
FZ447 Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday DXB-MAA 22:05 04:00 4:25
FZ448 Wednesday, Friday, Sunday MAA-DXB 04:45 07:35 4:25

In 2014 flydubai added 23 new routes, creating a network of 95 destinations while adding increased frequency on many of its existing routes. The airline now operates 1,400 flights per week. Its network across its geographic focus grew by the number of routes in Africa (100%), in Central Asia (66%), Europe including Russia (40%), the GCC (7%), Middle East (30%) and in the Subcontinent (38%).

Flights can be purchased starting today from flydubai’s website (flydubai.com), its Call Centre (+971 600 54 44 45), flydubai travel shops or through travel partners.