United Arab Emirates (UAE) low-cost carrier flydubai is to launch flights to a seventh Saudi Arabian destination from February 1, 2012 when it inaugurates a three times weekly service to Taif from its Dubai International Airport base.
Situated 1,700m above sea level in the Hejaz province, Taif is a local beauty and holiday spot thanks to its temperate climate and beautiful scenery. With tree-lined streets, large souks and almost 3,000 gardens, the city is gaining prominence around the region as an alternative short-holiday destination. While, located less than 100km by road from Makkah, Taif is also an alternative gateway for travellers to the holy city.
“We are grateful to the Saudi authorities for their continued support of flydubai,” said Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer, flydubai. “Taif marks our seventh destination in Saudi Arabia and is part of our strategy to connect the UAE to destinations previously under-served by direct air links. By continuing to identify emerging cities such as Taif, we hope to continue promoting new avenues for trade and commercial ties across our network.”
In tandem with expanding its route network, flydubai ia slao increasing the frequency of existing operations to the Kingdom, introducing a second daily rotation to Damman and Riyadh following increasing demand for flights between Dubai and two of Saudi's main business hubs.
“Our daily flights to Riyadh and Dammam have seen overwhelming success with business and commercial travellers alike and these extra flights are a direct result of increasing consumer demand for direct, convenient, low-cost links to the Saudi capital and Eastern Province,” added Al Ghaith.
With the launch of operations to Taif, flydubai will operate a total of 55 weekly flights to destinations across the Kingdom. It currently offers flights to Abha, Dammam, Gassim, Jeddah, Riyadh and Yanbu. In the past year an estimated two million O&D passengers travelled between UAE and Saudi Arabia with flydubai holding a 8.0 per cent share of this traffic in its first year serving this international market.
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