Flydubai has announced plans to retrofit the cabins of 21 of its existing Boeing 737 MAX 8s, as the latest step in its cabin retrofit program. With this, the airline plans to replace its quirky regional business class product with flat bed seats. By my math, this means that by late 2027, the airline will offer a flat bed product on all planes equipped with business class.
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Flydubai will offer consistent business class throughout fleet
Flydubai is a Dubai-based carrier that’s owned by the government and partners with Emirates, currently exclusively flying Boeing 737s (though the airline also has plans to start flying Boeing 787s and Airbus A321neos). The airlines have some overlap between their networks, though Flydubai is able to serve many destinations that Emirates can’t serve, due to the difference in aircraft sizes between the airlines.
Back in the day, Flydubai exclusively operated Boeing 737-800s, which initially had recliner seats in business class.
However, in 2017 Flydubai elevated its passenger experience by introducing a flat bed business class, coinciding with the carrier taking delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
However, in 2023, the airline decided to mix things up, and started taking delivery of 737 MAX 8s with a quirky business class product intended more for regional flights. I found that to be a bit strange, since you’d think there would be a benefit to fleet commonality, and a consistent passenger experience.
Over the years, the airline has increasingly been working on streamlining its product:
- In 2024, the airline retrofitted its entire 737-800 fleet to replace the business class recliner seats with the same flat beds you’ll find on the bulk of 737 MAX 8s
- The latest update is that starting in September 2026 and over the course of 12 months, the airline plans to replace the regional business class seats on the 737 MAX 8s with the same flat bed product you’ll find on the 737-800s and other 737 MAX 8s
This is a great passenger experience change for Flydubai
By late 2027, Flydubai should have the same seats on every single plane equipped with business class, creating a consistent experience. The only outliers in the fleet will be a small number of planes that are in an all-economy configuration, without business class.
I’m always delighted when we see airlines focus on introducing a consistent experience, so this is really great. It just didn’t make sense to have three different kinds of business class products on the same types of planes, which fundamentally operate similar kinds of missions.
It’s really cool to see how Flydubai has continued to move upmarket. Historically Flydubai has sort of been a hybrid carrier, but the airline has been trying to improve across the board in recent times, including things like introducing free meals in economy.
It’s a fascinating time for the airline, especially with “true” long haul flights soon coming with the Dreamliners. I continue to be confused by why Emirates and Flydubai just don’t already merge — they have the same owners, they’re complementary, and together they have an incredibly comprehensive network. The branding just makes no sense to me, given that the airlines codeshare, so why have Emirates sell itineraries that include travel on an airline that many people have never heard of?
I’ve long thought that it’s only a matter of time before it happens, and perhaps it’ll coincide with a major downturn in the UAE. With the ongoing conflict in the region, one certainly wonders if that might not be too far down the road. We’ll see.
Bottom line
Flydubai plans to retrofit the cabins of 21 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, replacing the odd recliner product that it introduced a few years back with the flat beds you’ll find on the rest of the fleet. This follows the airline recently retrofitting all 737-800s with the same flat bed product you’ll find on most 737 MAX 8s.
When this project is done in late 2027, Flydubai will only have one type of business class seat, and that’s fantastic. The only planes that won’t have these seats will be the small number of all-economy jets.
What do you make of Flydubai going for flat bed consistency across the fleet?
If they (and SQ) can do this to 737, everyone can, but chooses not to. Lie-flat is an actual premium cabin. Recliners are fine for daytime under 5 hours. But when you get to redeyes and 5+ hours, c’mon, lie-flat, folks!
This move makes sense. They're more and more into the medium to long haul market with current flights to Bangkok, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk while operating 737s. Of course you want to offer a full business class product then, especially when you're aware of what the general public will see as 'the competition' at your home base. It's already horrible to spend 5+ hours on that type of jet, so there's no need to add...
This move makes sense. They're more and more into the medium to long haul market with current flights to Bangkok, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk while operating 737s. Of course you want to offer a full business class product then, especially when you're aware of what the general public will see as 'the competition' at your home base. It's already horrible to spend 5+ hours on that type of jet, so there's no need to add insult to injury by offering some economy plus seat on steroids.
It will be interesting to see what the widebodies will bring and how they will be used. And of course if they'll align the business class 'hard' products as good as possible. I'll see if I can try their improved product at some point next year.