It was 19 months almost to the very day that I last disembarked from an aeroplane, casually leaving, safe in the knowledge that I’d soon be back in the skies with a packed programme of travel planned for 2020.
Enter the coronavirus pandemic.
Akin to the five stages of grief, I experienced a variety of thoughts on international travel – entirely opposed to it on health and safety grounds, missing it dreadfully, thoroughly enjoying staycations, and finally, counting down the days, hours and minutes to my long-awaited return.
Quite rightly, many remain nervous about air travel, although a report from Dubai-based OTA platform Cleartrip in March revealed that almost three-quarters of people in the UAE and Saudi Arabia were ready to travel in the next six months.
From a logistics perspective, there is no need to be overly concerned, with face mask protocol followed to the letter by airport staff, from arrival, through check-in, immigration, security and up to the Flydubai lounge, which is available to business class passengers.
For the direct flight to Bodrum, which operates twice weekly (Tuesday and Friday) from Dubai’s Terminal 2 to the south coast of Turkey, there was no need for vaccinated passengers to have a PCR test, while a test was arranged at the METT Hotel & Beach Resort Bodrum for our safe return.
It has been said that the Covid crisis would spell the end of business class travel, as video technology has rendered the need for execs to jet all over the world almost redundant.
There was no evidence of this on our flights and, interestingly, those in the business class section did not conform to your typical business person, with no briefcase, laptop or powersuit in sight. While the aircraft itself was packed.
A spokesperson for Flydubai told Arabian Business: “The business class seat factors remain very high for the summer especially on the summer seasonal routes like Bodrum (which will run through to September 1), as well as Mykonos and Santorini, which are served by our Max aircraft that features our flat-bed business class seats.”
Return business class fares from DXB to Bodrum start from AED6,000 and economy class fares start from AED1,600.
Admittedly, the thought of wearing a facemask for four-and-a-half hours wasn’t something that filled me with joy, but in truth the time passed without problem – with movies and shows at your (sanitised) fingertips and staff regularly reminding passengers of their safety obligations, similar to wearing a seatbelt while sitting down, or placing your seat in the upright position before landing.
Food and drinks were served as they were before in those halcyon days pre-Covid, with staff taking all the necessary safety precautions.
IATA estimates that domestic markets could recover to 96 percent of pre-crisis levels in the second half of this year, a 48 percent improvement over 2020, and a return to pre-Covid levels in the third quarter of 2024.
Flydubai is ahead of the curve in this respect and has grown its network to more than 95 destinations, taking the Dubai-based low-cost carrier back to pre-pandemic levels, which includes relaunched routes; summer seasonal routes to Batumi, Bodrum, Santorini, Tivat, Trabzon and Mykonos; and brand new routes to Ankara, Budapest, Ljubljana, Minsk, Moscow Zhukovski, Novosibirsk, Perm, Salzburg, Sharm El Sheikh, Tel Aviv, Tirana and Warsaw.
The spokesperson added: “We are seeing very healthy demand for travel for the summer, especially to destinations with no quarantine requirements on arrival. Some of the more popular and busier routes are Bodrum, Maldives, Mykonos, Santorini, Tbilisi, Tirana, Tivat, Yerevan and Zanzibar.”
Flydubai has grown its network to more than 95 destinations.
Customers can choose packages from holidays by Flydubai that include the hotel stay at the METT and Flydubai flights, while special packages are being offered for the upcoming Eid break.
Passengers are required to make sure that they are up to date with the regulations from the IATA Travel Centre and the IATA destination tracker for their whole journey, and follow the guidance issued by the authorities and the airline. Passengers can also visit the Covid-19 information hub on flydubai.com for more information.
Return business class fares from DXB to Bodrum start from AED6,000 and economy class fares start from AED1,600.
It was a welcome return. Let’s not leave it so long next time.
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