Air Arabia, the largest low-cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, said that third-quarter profit rose 22 per cent on higher passengers numbers.
Net profit attributable to owners of the company increased to Dh247.4 million for the period ended September 30, up from Dh202.7m a year earlier. Turnover increased 25 per cent to Dh1.06 billion in the third quarter compared with Dh854m last year.
“The record third-quarter performance is a reflection of the company’s commitment to its core values underlined by its operational efficiency,” said Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, the company’s chairman.
“Despite ongoing political uncertainty in parts of the region adding to the challenge presented by fluctuating … fuel prices, we remain highly confident about the long-term prospects for the industry in the Mena region and our ability to march ahead with our growth plans,” he added.
The airline served more than 1.7 million passengers in the quarter, an increase of 15 per cent compared with the 1.5 million passengers carried in the same period last year, it said. The airline’s average seat load factor, or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats, was 80 per cent.
Air Arabia this year opened its second hub in the UAE and fourth worldwide at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport. The first flight from RAK took off on May 6, and the carrier is currently offering direct services from the emirate to Jeddah, Cairo, Muscat, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Dhaka.
Air Arabia added two new routes to its network in the third quarter. From its primary hub of Sharjah, it added Antalya in Turkey. It also added direct flights to Chittagong in Bangladesh from RAK.
Adel Ali, the chief executive, said last month that the airline was considering growing its Egyptian and Moroccan hubs as its business in the two countries continued to improve.
This summer, Air Arabia added an additional aircraft to its Morocco hub, as demand on routes to Europe increased during the summer. Currently, the airline operates two aircraft from Alexandria and four planes from Casablanca.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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