Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways yesterday reported a 23 per cent increase in third-quarter net profit, despite political unrest in the region.
The carrier’s net profit came in at 8.1 million Kuwaiti dinars (Dh102.7m) for the quarter ended September. Revenue was up 15 per cent year on year to 23.1m dinars.
The airline also said that the number of passengers flown increased 10.8 per cent year-on-year.
“Like many of our peers, some of the destination flight paths had to be rerouted to ensure the safety of our passengers and crews, and that resulted in more flying hours,” said Marwan Boodai, the chairman of Jazeera Airways. “[However], we were able to absorb the impact in the third quarter while registering 10.8 per cent growth in flown passengers and a 22.6 per cent growth in profitability.”
Carriers from the Arabian Gulf are encountering extra fuel costs and flying time to detour around conflict zones, most of them in the Middle East.
Last summer, Emirates Airline suspended all its flights to Erbil in northern Iraq, along with flights to the Crimean Peninsula. Other Arabian Gulf carriers followed suit, adding “hot spots” to the list such as Syria and Gaza.
Commenting on fuel prices in a post results’ call, Jazeera executives said that the airline was not practising fuel hedging and that it “passes on” any increase in fuel prices to its passengers.
Going forward, Jazeera expects a slower, but profitable fourth quarter because of fewer holidays and the continuing school year. It said it would continue to focus on its regular bread-and-butter destinations and not tourist spots.
Jazeera, which operates a fleet of 15 Airbus A320 aircraft, started offering flights to Istanbul’s main airport, Istanbul Ataturk, instead of flying to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.
Jazeera flies to 20 destinations throughout the Middle East, including Dubai, Bahrain and Beirut.
The non-government carrier was established in 2005, ending the dominance of Kuwait Airways.
Like its counterpart flydubai, Jazeera operates a business class along with its economy class.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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