Flydubai plans to take delivery of 11 more aircraft this
year, including seven Boeing 737 Max 9 and four Boeing 737 Max 8 planes,
enabling the airline to expand and upgrade its business-class offering, the
carrier announced Tuesday.
The Boeing 787 Max 9 aircraft will include 16 business-class
and 156 economy-class seats, compared with 10 business-class seats on some
Boeing 787 Max 8 planes. The added premium capacity "allows the airline to
meet strong demand" for the cabin on "key international routes,"
according to Flydubai.
In addition, the carrier in September will begin rolling out
the next phase of its cabin retrofit program. Over the next 12 months, 21
aircraft currently fitted with recliner business-class seats will be upgraded
to Flydubai's lie-flat seats. The retrofits also will replace Boeing overhead
bins with larger ones, allowing for up to six standard-size bags rather than
the four that fit in the current bins, according to the carrier.