Flydubai touches down in exotic Maldives

Flydubai, Dubai’s innovative low-cost airline, has inaugurated services to its latest destination — Male, the capital of the Maldives.
The carrier flies five times a week to the Maldives,
The inaugural flight arrived at Male International Airport recently.
A water cannon salute and delegation of senior Maldivian state officials received the aircraft and Ghaith Al-Ghaith, the airline’s CEO, on the runway.
Together with local and international media, they later attended a press conference at the Jumeirah Vittaveli resort.
Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor, minister of tourism, arts and culture, said: “Through this regular service, we look forward to welcoming travelers from a wider range of destinations and continuing to develop our tourism appeal.”
Speaking at a press conference, Al-Ghaith, said: “Launching flights to Male is a great start to the year as we introduce our affordable fares and innovative onboard services to a new market.”
Furthering its commitment to enhancing passenger experience, the airline has become the first carrier to offer daily updated digital newspapers through its In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system.
The eReader platform provides access to 45 newspapers in seven languages from across the globe in pdf format.
Patrick Prefontaine, president of DTI Solutions, the airline industry’s leading provider of in-flight digital reading software which supplied flydubai’s eReader, said: “We’re delighted to have helped flydubai achieve this historic project.”
Representatives from Boeing, who delivered the airline’s latest 737-800 aircraft in December 2012, joined flydubai in the Maldives.
“We are extremely proud of our partnership with flydubai and their confidence in the Boeing 737,” said Kent Craver, regional director for passenger satisfaction and revenue, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Gerald Lawless, president and CEO of Jumeirah Group, said: “We appreciate the significant contribution flydubai makes to the growth of tourism in Dubai and the region.”