Thursday, December 9, 2021 — Dubai-based flydubai and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the national flag carrier of Pakistan, have signed a new interline agreement which will provide passengers with greater options for travel between Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and onwards to more destinations on the carriers’ combined networks.
The interline agreement will allow PIA to sell seats beyond Dubai to nine destinations on the flydubai network: Almaty, Bahrain, Baku, Baghdad, Istanbul, Kuwait, Mashhad, Moscow and Najaf. flydubai will be able to sell seats on PIA’s flights between Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar connecting in Dubai and anywhere on flydubai’s network.
There is significant and growing demand for travel between Pakistan and the destinations offered through the interline arrangement. Passengers will benefit from a seamless service and increased connectivity via Dubai’s aviation hub.
flydubai started operating to Pakistan in 2010 with the launch of flights to Karachi. The Dubai-based carrier operates to five points in Pakistan including Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta and Sialkot.
Commenting on the agreement, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “We would like to thank the Authorities and PIA for giving us the opportunity to further strengthen travel and trade links between the UAE and Pakistan. Over the years, our two countries have laid strong foundations of mutually beneficial trade relations, friendship and successful cooperation. The new interline will allow more passengers to benefit from easier connections on our established network in the GCC, Central Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, while adding more options to travel to Pakistan with PIA from the UAE and the region.”
Commenting on the agreement, Chief Executive Officer Pakistan International Airlines, Air Marshal (R) Arshad Malik, said: “The pandemic has hit the Commercial Aviation industry the hardest and airlines all over the world are looking at opportunities to cooperate and collaborate in order to mitigate the adverse effects of the global virus. In this perspective, we are pleased to see the commencement of interline cooperation between PIA and flydubai. This is indeed a great opportunity for us to join hands with flydubai, by connecting Pakistan to Dubai and around the globe, and expanding reach to more destinations for convenience of our valued passengers. This interline partnership is a first step to build logical commercial development for both carriers. It will enable both the carriers to cater to the strong customer demand for business and leisure travel between Dubai and Pakistan and beyond by providing our mutual customers a seamless travel experience.
flydubai has a network of more than 100 destinations in 50 countries across Africa, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Central and South-East Europe, the GCC and the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent. The carrier opened more than 70 new routes that did not previously have direct air links to Dubai or were not served by a UAE national carrier from Dubai, served by a single fleet-type of 55 Boeing 737 aircraft.
The carrier has recently resumed flights to Naples, Prague and Zagreb and has launched operations to Ankara, Budapest, Ljubljana, Salzburg, Sohar and Warsaw.
Passengers who book a flydubai flight to Dubai will enjoy a complimentary 1-day ticket to visit Expo 2020 Dubai, which will take place from 01 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. The initiative is valid for all bookings that were made from 01 January 2020 for travel during the event dates.