According to the FlyDubai website, starting from September 15 they will be flying into and out of Kuwait from the Sheikh Saad General Aviation Terminal at Kuwait Airport. The Sheikh Saad terminal was previously used by Wataniya Airways before they went bankrupt. [Link]
31 replies on “FlyDubai to fly out of Sheikh Saad Terminal”
I will now become a dedicated FLYDUBAI customer! I am out of the Kuwait Airport (praise GOD!) It is also interesting to note that the Terminal 2 airport in Dubai is going through an overhaul and there are alot of improvements for passengers in that terminal. FLYDubai always attracted the western business customers, Jazeera could never attract the business crowd and this terminal is great news for passengers and with their new business class seats they will be able to offer a nice business class lounge for passengers in SST. Maybe I will book it to the Maldives next time since they are in this terminal – Best news I have heard all year!
Flydubai is a horrible airlines though
I don’t care if Big Bird Airlines flies out of Sheikh Saad Terminal, as long as I can fly to Dubai and exit this country other than Kuwait International Airport I am on-board that aircraft.
Great news! I miss that airport
Great news. I’ll be flying them from now on. Not only do they fly out of a new terminal, but they also fly my favorite aircraft. Should be fun to compare against Jazeera.
The comparisons are numerous. I am not a Boeing fan, but prefer the Airbus plane model, however, FLYDUBAI has invested in an impressive fleet of new aircrafts, expanded routes and evidentally has a professional team at the helm that have moved this new low-budget carrier to a very successful level in a very short period of time. It is a simple portfolio, it is smart, well-run carrier. Jazeera has failed to market to a non-Kuwaiti customer, they failed to expand at a steady pace by purchasing new aircrafts and although I recognize some improvements in their customer support levels such as self-check-in, their expansion has been minimal compared to other regional low-budget carriers. With the demise of Kuwait Airways and Wataniya Airways, they could have taken the market, but failed miserably. Their planes are filthy, their stewards/ess seem miserable and if you look at their flight schedule, cannot seem to run a flight after 6:30 pm to Dubai, one of their most travelled markets, after all, Dubai is the hub of the region. They have added some destinations such as Najaf to their itinerary which caters to a segment of the Kuwait population, but the key is to run an airline that caters to an inclusive market. Wataniya did the same thing, you cannot just market your carrier to Kuwaitis, the marketing should be inclusive to fulfill the travel needs that meet the demands of the Kuwait market. FLYDUBAI is smart, the adjustments that they have made to their Terminal 2 are impressive, but at the end of the day this is a competitive market and thank you Jazeera for rendering 6 flights or more to FLYDUBAI because we can clearly see the winner here and the prize is Sheikh Saad Terminal. It is embarrassing that a country can not support any of it’s national carriers. Jazeera should have been awarded the land to build their own terminal years ago and in a market where the travel industry is a very valued business due to the travel demand by it’s public, you would think they would have broken ground on a new airport, overhauled their national carrier, Kuwait Airways, and prevented the demise of Wataniya Airways years ago in an attempt of addressing ‘national pride’. It’s political and I am impressed that FLYDUBAI took a proactive approach to the market and bailed us out of one of the most poorly run airports in the world. It is embarrassing how they treat the number one airline in the world, Emirates Airlines, as you queue in an overcrowded space which they fail to address at that airport – an airport should run for passengers, it is about new check-in desk areas, not retail space in an airport that can no longer handle the passenger levels. I am about to become a dedicated FLYDUBAI customer, so long KIA, good riddance!
Well said.
So instead of giving this terminal to Dubai’s main carrier (emirates) they decided to give it to a Low Cost Carrier (L.C.C) that’s very cute (LCC with a premium terminal…..)
The terminal isn’t designed to handle Emirates-level traffic. Have you been to SST? It would get overwhelmed easily considering Emirates only flies wide-body aircraft.
It is only a “premium terminal” when compared to the dismal main airport. Otherwise it reminds me of a small Greek island airport. Sunny and cute, but not much else
thank you, thank you, thank you!
Well in all fairness, Jazeera is a private airline (its owned by the same people that run Citybus, The Boodai Group) and flydubai has the Dubai government behind it.
However,I can’t argue with the bad management:
1. They got rid of their CEO who turned the airline around.
2. They cancelled the majority of their plane orders (a bad move; considering prices are fixed at the time of sale).
3. They are using Kuwait as a hub (which is not good for anyone involved). This is not their fault, as Dubai asked them to stop using Terminal 1 as a hub. However, they should have used another hub because due to overcapacity (this is a fancy way of saying the airport terminal too small); they were forced to park their planes and get rid of others – again, bad management. They should have used SST instead.
4. Their planes’ cabins – which were their selling point seriously need an upgrade.
My mother was an avid fan of the Wataniya airlines and I absolutely loved their airport, thankfully it’s going to be used with a service used by lots of people, I can easily say that I plan to use FlyDubai more often because of this choice.
Is there long term parking at the Sheikh Saad terminal?
flydubai is not profitable while Jazeera Airways is, period.
US$ 41.3 million profits to be precise
https://www.thenational.ae/business/industry-insights/aviation/first-profits-posted-by-budget-carrier-flydubai
any idea what other airlines will operate out of sheikh saad terminal? Just having FlyDubai serving KWI-DXB seems like overkill, no?
It’s a really small terminal though, I don’t know if it can handle much more.
It did handle more with Wataniya…
Does anyone know whether they have a long term parking & if so, do you think there will be enough space to handle the october holidays.
There used to be long term parking so I am guessing it will still be there
I took a round there last week. I did not see any long term parking just regular. Can you please find out if possible?
Would also we weird flying back and not having taxi’s available. They are preety procey tho.
Thanks.
I’m clearly missing something – why does everyone hate KIA again?
There’s something about Sheikh Saad Royal Terminal. Felt it was jinxed for business from the get-go. Time will tell if flydubai too goes the Wataniya Airways way as far as their Kuwait operations go.
flydubai with Jazeera you are very mistaken.
Flydubai is profitable. The spreadsheet speaks for itself
Will there be a Hala Services desk for incoming visitors to assist with their visas? This is a crucial service otherwise all expats will still be forced to go through the main terminal, a miserable experience for all concerned
As far as I know, the terminal does not have long term parking. Also because of the limited number of flights, the taxi service is scares & and practically non-existance at night. Drivers were asking 15 to 20 kd to take people to kuwait city & people were fighting over them. You would better arrange for a taxi pick up before you leave kuwait
There is long term parking
Mark whats their long term parking like? Pricing? Crowded / availability?
no worries found it on a diff post 🙂
How can an American passenger get a VISA when coming into Kuwait from Dubai? Do you have to go to the Main Terminal?