Jazeera Airways plans to offer daily flights from Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport from May 1 as the Kuwaiti budget carrier seeks to offset declining revenues from some other routes.
The airline made the disclosure as it reported a sharp decline in profits for the first three months of the year as fuel costs rose.
First-quarter net income fell by about 41.8 per cent, the airline said yesterday. Shares fell 2.2 per cent.
Revenue dropped 6.1 per cent to 13.8 million Kuwait dinars (Dh180.1m), compared with the same period in 2013.
In a post-earnings call, Jazeera Airways said results were hit by an 11 per cent increase in fuel costs. The airline said that it would look for ways to mitigate the impact in the year ahead.
Earnings were also hurt by a 2.1 per cent drop in passenger numbers due to the decrease in demand for some of its destinations – namely Lebanon and Egypt. The price yield, or average price per passenger, was down by 1 dinar during the first quarter.
The carrier said it planned to increase its service to Al Maktoum airport, along with its daily flights to Dubai International Airport.
With an average of 24 flights to Dubai per week, Al Jazeera said that its timings and frequencies would accommodate both business and leisure travellers to the UAE.
“Our outlook for the year remains unchanged and we expect to register bottom-line growth driven by an exceptional summer season with the Holy Month of Ramadan falling earlier in the season,” said Marwan Boodai, the chairman.
Starting on June 1, Jazeera Airways will have its own gates at Kuwait International Airport, which will boost capacity by about 30 per cent, it said.
“Our customers will no longer be exposed to the airport’s gates’ congestion during peak times. This investment will significantly bolster our product offering,” said Mr Boodai.
Separately, Jazeera Airways said it would start operations to Istanbul through the city’s main airport, Istanbul Atatürk, with five flights per week starting from May 2. Since 2008 the carrier has flown to the secondary Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.
“The move to Istanbul Atatürk Airport bolsters the airline’s Istanbul service by enabling it to offer travellers better flight schedules to an airport that is at the heart of the city,” it said.
Jazeera Airways flies to 19 destinations throughout the Middle East, including such Dubai, Bahrain, and Beirut
The non-government carrier was established in 2004 ending the dominance of Kuwait Airways.
Like its counterpart flydubai, Jazeera Airways operates a business class along with its economy class.
As budget carriers are becoming increasingly popular in the Middle East, flydubai reported a 47 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit for last year, boosted by a 38 per cent increase in passenger numbers. Net profit reached Dh222.8m on revenues of Dh3.7 billion.
Meanwhile, Sharjah’s Air Arabia reported in February a net profit of Dh435m for last year, up 2 per cent compared with a year earlier. Revenue for the airline was at Dh3.2 billion, an increase of 14 per cent year-on-year.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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