After an exciting 12 months, Flydubai has reached one year in operation with almost one million passenger bookings and a staggering more than three quarters of a million passengers to date.

The airline was established by the Government of Dubai in March 2008 with the aim of making travel within a four-and-a-half hour flight radius of Dubai easier, more accessible and more affordable.

Flydubai's first flight took off to Beirut on June 1, 2009 and just 12 months later the airline has built a network of 21 destinations, 16 of which are operational, with five to follow later this month. This makes flydubai possibly the fastest growing start-up airline ever.

Since the start of operations to Beirut and Amman in June 2009, traffic on the Dubai-Beirut route has increased by 33 per cent and Dubai-Amman has grown by a staggering 40 per cent, which proves that flydubai's simple, uncomplicated low fares help to grow the market.

Flydubai has made other changes to the market by giving people the option to purchase checked baggage, seats and meals. These options have been very popular, with 83 pert cent of passengers purchasing an item of food or drink, 30 per cent of passengers paying to select their seat and 56 per cent paying for checked baggage.

But 44 per cent of people travelled with only hand luggage, which means they were able to benefit from Flydubai's lowest fares. These figures indicate how well this different way of travelling has been accepted in the Middle East market.

In the first year Flydubai operated almost 8,000 flights and of those 85 per cent departed on time. In May alone there were more than 1,000 flights and 92 per cent of them departed on time, which are very impressive numbers and show that even though flydubai is getting bigger the airline's performance is getting better.

Flydubai's fleet of eight brand new Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft are being worked hard to ensure they are kept in the air as much as possible.

The year-end average aircraft utilisation is expected to be around 14 and a half hours. This would make Flydubai the industry leader for an airline operating a 737-800 and is one of the ways the airline ensures low fares for its customers.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer, Flydubai commented on this proud occasion: "We would not be where we are today without the vision and leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai - and it is thanks to the guidance and support of our chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, that we are in such a strong position after such a short time.