Newly appointed Flydubai COO Ken Gile plans to keep costs down at his new low cost carrier by hedging the cost of fuel, a strategy most notably used by perennially profitable Southwest Airlines--but not at Skybus, where he was president and COO until the carrier went bankrupt in April.

The specifics are still being worked out, says Gile:

We are focusing on implementing a successful hedging plan and Southwest Airline's hedging strategy is something we could look at. Fuel is one of the biggest expenses for any airline so we have to look at ways to control it in order to be able to offer the lowest fares in the region.

Flydubai also plans to lower costs by promoting electronic booking and keeping planes in the sky as much as possible, two strategies Skybus did use. Wonder if the new airline will have a call center?

Related Stories:
· Flydubai Plans to Use Fuel Hedging [Emirates Business]
· Post-Skybus Life: Ex-COO Tapped for Flydubai Gig [Jaunted]
· Skybus CEO "Respects" Southwest [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-08-13T11:50:09-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/5/13938/64779

New low cost carrier Flydubai will have a familiar face running the show: Former Skybus COO Kenneth Gile. He's been tapped to tackle the same job for the nascent airline, which hopes to be flying by summer of next year.

It won't be the first time in the Persian Gulf for Gile, as he started his commercial career with Saudi Arabian Airlines before joining Southwest, eventually become the Texas LCC's chief pilot and director of flight operations.

He's not the only Skybus refugee moving overseas, either, it seems. Marla Matzer Rose at the Columbus Dispatch reports that some of the defunct airline's pilots are now working in China. Maybe they'll get rated to fly those nifty new ARJ21s?

Related Stories:
· Flydubai Appoints New COO [Xpress]
· Ex-Skybus Prez Lands in Dubai [CD]
· Flydubai to Launch by 2009 [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-08-05T13:20:05-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/