Review of FlyDubai flight Prague → Dubai in Business

Launched in 2009 as a low-cost carrier, flydubai has evolved its product offering over the years to its current hybrid model, placing the Dubai-based airline somewhere between a traditional full-service carrier and a low-cost carrier. flydubai's move up-market is most evident in its choice of cabin configurations for the Boeing 737 MAX fleet, which features a long-haul style Economy cabin with seat-back entertainment screens and power and the new flagship Business class product with fully flat seats. 

As Emirates' "little sister," flydubai operates to mostly smaller secondary destinations, where Emirates' larger wide-bodies may be too much aircraft for the demand. 

Recently, Flight-Report was able to test the flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 from Prague. Let's have a look!     

Non-Schengen flights operate from Terminal 1 at Prague's Václav Havel Airport. 

check-in

The flydubai ticket counters open 3 hours before scheduled departure with a clearly marked priority lane for Business class passengers. 

Screens above the ticketing desks alternate different promotional and destination images.  

After verification of Covid testing requirements for the UAE, boarding passes and lounge invitations are given by the check-in agent.  

Coming out of the passport checkpoint, there is  a duty free zone, as with many airports.  

mastercard lounge

Business class passengers on flydubai have access to the Mastercard lounge located on the upper level. 

The lounge is spacious and has a simple modern style with a dedicated computer/Business area, plenty of tables and seating and good views of the tarmac.  

The food offering includes chips, popcorn, pretzels, finger sandwiches, crudités, charcuteries, breads, chicken schnitzel, and soup. 

There are also plentiful soft drinks and hot beverages available, as well as beers, wines, and spirits.  
 

A sample of the offering. 

Heading to the gate many shops were noticeably closed as it was later in the evening.

The Dubai flight is one of the latest departing flights. 

Here's the first look at our 737 MAX 8 for the evening–registered as A6-MAX, it was the first 737 MAX delivered to flydubai back in August 2017. 

Since then, the airline has receive 17 737 MAX 8s and 3 737 MAX 9s.

Security checkpoints in Terminal 1 are located by the gates. 

There is a clearly marked fast track lane for business class passengers.

boarding

Boarding begins in a timely and orderly manner.

.First to board are Business class passengers, along with Silver, Gold and Platinum members of the Skywards programme.  

The soft hue of mood-lighting, a feature of the MAX's Boeing Sky Interior, can be seem as we approach the aircraft.  

The Boeing 737 MAX can be identified by it large engines and AT (Advance Technology) winglets.  

The Business class cabin is laid out in a staggered configuration with alternating rows of 1-1 and 2-2 seating, a rare and spacious layout for a narrow-body aircraft, much less on a 737. 

The spacious yet intimate cabin is composed of only 10 seats. 

The highly-desired solo "throne" seats are located in row 2.

A pillow and blanket are available at each seat for this night flight. 

…along with a water bottle and noise-cancelling headset. 

The solo throne seats natually have more storage with space in the consoles on either side of the seat.  

The entertainment system remote is found under the side armrest next to the seat controls. 

110v Universal power outlets are available at each seat. 

The foot-well

The side console on the window side offers yet more storage with a convenient place for shoes. 

Individual in-flight entertainment screens measure 15.6" (38 cm) 

Lights are lowered for takeoff with a soft blue lighting bathing the cabin.

in flight

Flight time between Prague and Dubai is just shy of 6 hours. 

A brighter, yet still soft, mood-lighting comes on for the meal service. 

The seat in a relaxation position. 

The evening service begins with a hot towel. 

Food & wine menus were previously distributed during boarding. 

The menus were in multiple languages.

Here is a look at the beverage selection.  

 A choice of salted nuts or a sweet mix are offered with the apéritif drink service. 

The champagne served on today's flight is a Duval-Leroy Brut Reserve NV

The food menu with a choice from 3 main dish options. 

For this short overnight flight, the meal is served on one tray with covers intact per standard Covid-era health protocols. 

Warm bread.

TO START
RED CABBAGE COLESLAW
Mixture of red and white cabbage blended with a vinaigrette dressing

YOUR CHOICE
PRAWN RAVIOLI
Hand-made prawn ravioli served in a tomato-based cream sauce and topped with a parmesan crumble 

TO FINISH
LEMON MOUSSE CAKE
A zesty lemon-flavoured mousse topped with caramelised lemon zest. 

While the appetiser and dessert were on the basic side, the main dish of prawn ravioli was quite good.  

rest

Thanks to the express meal service on this short flight, there's still time to catch some sleep.

Here is the seat in full bed mode.  

The seats lay completely flat. 

After about 4 hours of sleep, the first rays of sunlight peek above the clouds. 

We begin the descent somewhere over Iran.

While there is no pre-arrival meal service on such a short flight, coffee, tea, juices, and other beverages are offered prior to landing in Dubai.

Cabin crew distribute immigration fast track invitation cards to all business class passengers prior to landing.  

approach and arrival

Approaching against the wind to Runway 30L

IFE screens display the flydubai logo towards the end of the flight.

Another flydubai 737 MAX 8 spotted during taxi to the gate. 

We parked at a remote stand at Terminal 1 and were deplaned by bus to reach the terminal building. 

Many thanks to the crew for offering a quick visit to the flight deck! The screen size is the most obvious difference with a 737NG cockpit. 

From our remote stand at Terminal 1 we arrived to Terminal 3. Though the bussing process was a bit long, much time was saved with the immigration fast track lane. 

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

flydubai currently operate a fleet of 33 Boeing 737-800, 17 Boeing 737 MAX 8, and 3 Boeing 737 MAX 9.
The airline plans on continuing growth with an additional 49 MAX 8, 69 MAX 9, and 50 MAX 10 on order. 

flydubai's 737 MAX 8 aircraft are configured with 10 fully-flat Business class seats and 156 seats in the Economy cabin.

Flydubai currently serves the following markets from Dubai, some in parallel with big sister Emirates Airline:
Abha, Addis Ababa, Ahmedabad, Ahvaz, Alexandria, Al Jawf, Almaty, Amman, Ankara, Ashgabat, Asmara, Baghdad, Bahrain, Baku, Basra, Beirut, Belgrade, Bangalore, Bishkek, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Catania, Chennai, Chittagong, Cluj-Napoca, Colombo, Dammam, Dar es Salaam, Delhi, Dhaka, Djibouti, Doha, Dushanbe, Entebbe, Erbil, Faisalabad, Gassim, Grozny, Ha'il, Hargeisa, Helsinki, Hofuf, Hyderabad, Isfahan, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Jeddah, Jizan, Juba, Karachi, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kilimanjaro, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Krabi, Kraków, Krasnodar, Kuwait City, Kyiv–Boryspil, Lar, Ljubljana, Lucknow, Malé, Malta, Mashhad, Medina, Minsk, Moscow–Vnukovo, Moscow–Zhukovsky, Multan, Mumbai, Muscat, Najaf, Naples, Novosibirsk, Nur-Sultan, Odessa, Perm, Port Sudan, Prague, Quetta, Riyadh, Salalah, Salzburg, Sarajevo, Sharm El Sheikh, Shiraz, Shymkent, Sialkot, Skopje, Sochi, Sofia, Sohag, Sohar, Sulaimaniyah, Tabuk, Ta'if, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Tirana, Warsaw, Yangon, Yekaterinburg, Yerevan, Zagreb, and Zanzibar.

Flight taken and reported by Flavien for Flight-Report as a guest of flydubai (Translated from original French by KévinDC).