Flydubai, Dubai’s first low cost airline, has agreed a deal to finance four Boeing 737-800 aircraft (worth $320 million), with GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS).

The sale and leaseback agreement covers the aircraft due to be delivered to flydubai from Boeing in 2009, with two expected in July, one in October and one in December, said an airline official.

Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith, said: “This is a significant deal for flydubai as it is the first financing that we have secured from outside the UAE. This deal ensures our financing needs for the rest of 2009 when we will receive a further four aircraft from Boeing.”

“This will bring our fleet to a total of six aircraft by the end of the year and allow flydubai to operate to around 14 destinations,” he added.

Norm CT Liu, GECAS’ newly named president and CEO, said: “This is a major achievement, the product of excellent work between our two teams - we wish flydubai every success in this new venture.'

Flydubai was announced by the Government of Dubai in March 2008 with a start-up capital of Dh250 million.

An historic order at the Farnborough Air Show in July 2008, saw flydubai become the biggest customer in the Middle East of the 737-800, with an order book of 50 at a list price of approximately $4 billion.

The first two of these aircraft arrived in May and went into service at the beginning of June. This financing agreement covers the next four aircraft that flydubai will receive.

The low-cost carrier has announced flights to eight destinations across the Middle East, North Africa and India, and currently operates to four – Beirut (Lebanon), Amman (Jordan), Damascus (Syria) and Alexandria (Egypt).

The first two aircraft covered by this agreement will arrive in July and will service flydubai’s recently announced Indian routes of Lucknow, Coimbatore and Chandigarh as well as Aleppo (Syria).-TradeArabia News Service