Emirates & FlyDubai Likely To Merge Within 18 Months

[Strategic Aviation]

Previously in February, One Mile At A Time wrote that Emirates Is Considering Radically Changing Their Fleet with an order for narrowbody planes over the next 18 months or so.

In April, the Centre for Aviation (CAPA) wrote perhaps time for Emirates to combine with flydubai (and in so doing address its narrowbody issue).

Now OMAAT writes Emirates & FlyDubai Likely To Merge Within 18 Months:-

While not yet finalized, Aviation Voice quotes Tim Clark, the President of Emirates, as saying that he’d like Emirates and FlyDubai to be brought together as one within the next 18 months:

“We are minded to accelerate a greater joining of the hip, of what we do, there’s a lot of work going on there to extract value for the shareholder. We could do things better together than apart.”

It remains to be seen what Emirates and FlyDubai combining into one unit would look like. It’s possible that both airlines retain their respective branding, it’s possible that FlyDubai is fully integrated into Emirates, and it’s also possible that FlyDubai is instead marketed as a regional or subsidiary of Emirates (FlyEmirates, Emirates Express, etc.).

Emirates wouldn’t be the first airline to do something like this. Just look at Singapore Airlines and SilkAir, which have the same owner, but are marketed differently. Singapore Airlines only has widebody planes, while SilkAir only has narrowbody planes.

Bottom line

As of now the details are still sparse, though more cooperation and even a full merger between Emirates and FlyDubai makes sense, especially as Emirates tries to become more efficient. Emirates is at a huge disadvantage by not having narrowbodies, so there would be a lot of value in being able to align schedules and destinations based on which plane is the best fit for each market. Since they already have the same owner, this shouldn’t be all that tough.

 

[RooFlyer]

Possibly similar to the combination of Qantas and TAA - common government owner of separate airlines puts 'em together to create stronger/more efficient whole.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

Emirates & FlyDubai Announce An Extensive New Partnership - One Mile at a Time

While a full-on merger isn’t happening (yet), Emirates and FlyDubai have announced that they’re “joining forces” and introducing an extensive partnership.

While both airlines will continue to be run independently (well, as independently as two airlines owned by the same government can be run), this new partnership consists of several things:

* There will be an expansive codeshare agreement, schedule alignment, and network optimization
* The frequent flyer programs will be aligned so that there’s more reciprocity

 

[Strategic Aviation]

FlyDubai Is Ending Their Own Loyalty Program & Adopting Emirates Skywards - One Mile at a Time