flydubai has unveiled “The Business Suite“, its latest premium business class seat at this year’s Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
The new seat offers all passengers in Business Class direct aisle access. That is better than the Business Class experience onboard many wide-body aircraft, including the 777s operated by partner airline Emirates.
Designed exclusively for single-aisle aircraft, The Business Suite is a brand-new seat for which flydubai is the launch customer. It is the result of a collaboration with Safran Seats, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of aircraft seats, and JPA Design, a specialist aviation design company.
The new design is a significant product upgrade for passengers, and promises added comfort and privacy.
It’s a Suite Life
The Business Suite is in a reverse herringbone layout, with all seats angled away from the aisle and towards the windows. Each suite has a sliding privacy door that can be adjusted based on mood and personal preference.
Doors are all the rage with new business class seats, and it makes sense to give passengers the option to adapt their space. When travelling in a suite-style seat, I prefer to keep the door open while awake for the added sense of room and to make the meal service smooth. However, I will close the door while napping or sleeping for the added sense of privacy and cosiness.
My one concern with the new design is storage space. I think it may fail the laptop test. flydubai promises the new suite will offer ‘discreet and thoughtful stowage solutions to keep personal items readily accessible while maintaining a clutter-free living space’. However, I could not see anywhere to stow a normal-sized laptop conveniently.
The seat incorporates upgraded entertainment options with Bluetooth-enabled personal headphones and a 17-inch 4K built-in touchscreen.
When and where will we see The Business Suite?
The first aircraft fitted with the new Business Suite is slated to join the fleet in November. Up to six aircraft offering this new premium Business Class experience are expected to be in the air by the first quarter of 2024. There will be 10 of the new suites in each Business Class cabin.
Those aircraft will be scheduled on select longer flights around the flydubai network. The PR images released by the airline hint Zanzibar might be one of those. However, the exact destinations are still to be announced.
The elephant in the room
flydubai has come a long way since its first recliner-style Business Class offering was introduced in 2013.
The Business Suite is a very premium product that rivals many airlines’ Business Class experience on wide-body aircraft. It makes the business class offering from Emirates, with its 2-3-2 configuration on some aircraft, pale in comparison. The A350s and 777X with new seats that Emirates has on order can not arrive soon enough.