In 2013, Saad Al-Khafaji, the director general of Iraqi Airways, anticipated a boom in tourism and business traffic in Baghdad. However, a severe Daesh insurgency replaced this expected surge, causing a standstill in Iraq and the Middle East for several years. Now, with security largely reestablished, there is renewed optimism for Baghdad's global reputation to be restored. Fly Baghdad, which began as a charter airline in 2014, has rapidly grown to become Iraq's second-largest airline, boasting a fleet of 10 aircraft.
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Fly Baghdad's CEO, Basheer Al-Shabbani, explained that the airline initially aimed to be a low-cost carrier for those unable to afford luxury fares. However, upon assuming the role of CEO in 2018, Al-Shabbani discovered that the term "low-cost" was not well-received by the Iraqi populace. As a result, the airline now offers nearly all services for free, including meals, first-time booking changes, and luggage allowances of 25kg for checked baggage and 7kg for hand luggage.
The airline has fitted business class cabins on two of its Boeing 737-800s, which are currently serving the Dubai and Beirut routes, as well as the newly introduced Bombardier CRJ900. The airline's network spans several cities including Ahmedabad and Mumbai in India, Aleppo and Damascus in Syria, Amman in Jordan, Cairo in Egypt, Isfahan, Mashhad, and Tehran in Iran, Istanbul in Turkey, Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan, Medina in Saudi Arabia, Tunis in Tunisia, and Yerevan in Armenia. While most flights originate from Baghdad, the airline also operates several point-to-point services from secondary hubs in Erbil and Najaf. Although plans for a Moscow route have been shelved, Dammam in Saudi Arabia is slated to be the next regional addition. Al-Shabbani stated that Fly Baghdad's narrowbody fleet needs to expand by "at least 30%" to meet current demand.
If Fly Baghdad can penetrate longer-haul markets, it plans to transition from a point-to-point to a network airline model. The airline's initial European destinations are Frankfurt and Amsterdam, potentially followed by Paris and London. The Asia Pacific network includes Indonesia and Thailand, and the management is considering acquiring a pair of Airbus A330s as backup aircraft. However, the project faces several challenges, including the cost and complexity of visa procurement, which is a significant burden for the Iraqi people. The most formidable obstacle is gaining access to Europe.