Flydubai has confirmed that its upcoming fleet of Boeing 787-9 aircraft will not be used for flights to North America. The airline, which placed an order for 30 Dreamliners in late 2023, is preparing to introduce the widebody jets with a three-class configuration: economy, premium economy, and business class. Details on the exact seat numbers for each class have not yet been released.
At the Dubai Airshow 2025, flydubai CEO Ghaith al Ghaith addressed speculation about potential long-haul routes using the new aircraft. “They’re not going to go that far for sure. However, we will definitely go to new places all over the world,” he said when asked about possible services to the United States or Canada.
The range of the Boeing 787-9 has led some observers to consider whether flydubai might use these planes for destinations as distant as Australia. While Perth is closer to Dubai than New York City, most Australian cities would require longer flights. The airline’s statement regarding North America may also indicate similar limitations for service to eastern Australia.
Al Ghaith also discussed how the new aircraft could serve existing markets within flydubai’s network. “There are certain places in our existing network where we can also use this aircraft, and which would benefit our profits.” Cities such as Dhaka, Jeddah, Kathmandu, and Riyadh are among those that could see deployment of the Dreamliners. Notably, Kathmandu—currently unserved by Emirates—has seen up to six daily flydubai flights this year.
Industry analysis suggests that other destinations could join flydubai’s route map with the introduction of widebody service. Potential cities include Clark, Cebu, Durban, London Stansted, Newcastle, Bamako, Bangkok, Cairo, Chengdu, Davao, Douala, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Kinshasa, Malaga, Marseille, Nagoya, Perth (already served by Emirates), Phuket (also already served by Emirates), Porto, Surabaya, Toulouse and Zhengzhou. Some of these cities were previously part of Emirates’ network and may return under flydubai operations.
The airline’s decision not to operate its Boeing 787s on North American routes reflects both operational considerations and strategic planning as it continues its expansion alongside partner Emirates.
