In the Levant, the global downturn weighed on Royal Jordanian, with revenue passenger kilometres down 8.2 per cent and freight traffic lower still, with a 27 per cent decline. Passenger traffic contracted slightly by 1.2 per cent, or 2.6 million people. Despite a year of volatility, the airline, based in Amman, was able to report a net profit of US$40.6 million (Dh149.1m). With revenues of $850.4m, Royal Jordanian posted a profit margin of 4.7 per cent.
The airline is considered the strongest in the Levant region, having turned around its business in 2006 by cutting loss-making international routes and focusing instead on shorter, regional destinations. Royal Jordanian was the first Middle East airline to purchase the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with the first of 11 expected in 2013. Middle East Airlines (MEA), based in Beirut, enjoyed a bumper year last year, with net income of $107.3m, positioning the airline to begin preparations for an initial public offering. The profits were attributed to falling fuel prices and growing security and political stability in the war-torn country.
One of the oldest carriers in the Middle East, with its origins going back to 1945, MEA languished for years because of the civil war in Lebanon, which pushed the airline into bankruptcy. It carried 1.5 million travellers last year, up 14 per cent from 2008. Revenue passenger kilometres grew by 12 per cent to 3.1 billion. In Israel, airlines suffered slight traffic declines. Revenues fell 21 per cent to $1.65 billion for El Al, the national flag carrier. This, together with security requirements, contributed to a net loss of $76m.
"Clearly, security costs are a big issue with El Al," said Perry Flint of Air Transport World. "There is also unrest in the region, which is never helpful to an airline that derives a large share of its revenues from tourism." Arkia, Israel's second-largest airline, suffered a 2.5 per cent decline in passenger numbers to 1.1 million, but did not disclose financial results. Syrian Arab Airlines did not participate in the survey. The carrier has been unable to purchase US-made aeroplanes because of sanctions, forcing it to consider less-popular, Russian-made Tupolev aircraft.
It had announced ambitions of buying 50 aircraft from Boeing or even Airbus, which is also blocked under the sanctions because of the high preponderance of US-made engines and components.
igale@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPOPC%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAmna%20Aijaz%2C%20Haroon%20Tahir%20and%20Arafat%20Ali%20Khan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eart%20and%20e-commerce%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%20u%3C%2Fstrong%3Endisclosed%20amount%20raised%20through%20Waverider%20Entertainment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
PULITZER PRIZE 2020 WINNERS
JOURNALISM
Public Service
Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with ProPublica
Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
Investigative Reporting
Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times
Explanatory Reporting
Staff of The Washington Post
Local Reporting
Staff of The Baltimore Sun
National Reporting
T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica
and
Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb of The Seattle Times
International Reporting
Staff of The New York Times
Feature Writing
Ben Taub of The New Yorker
Commentary
Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times
Criticism
Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times
Editorial Writing
Jeffery Gerritt of the Palestine (Tx.) Herald-Press
Editorial Cartooning
Barry Blitt, contributor, The New Yorker
Breaking News Photography
Photography Staff of Reuters
Feature Photography
Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of the Associated Press
Audio Reporting
Staff of This American Life with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green, freelancer, Vice News for “The Out Crowd”
LETTERS AND DRAMA
Fiction
"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
Drama
"A Strange Loop" by Michael R. Jackson
History
"Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America" by W. Caleb McDaniel (Oxford University Press)
Biography
"Sontag: Her Life and Work" by Benjamin Moser (Ecco/HarperCollins)
Poetry
"The Tradition" by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
General Nonfiction
"The Undying: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care" by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
and
"The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America" by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan Books)
Music
"The Central Park Five" by Anthony Davis, premiered by Long Beach Opera on June 15, 2019
Special Citation
Ida B. Wells
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
US%20federal%20gun%20reform%20since%20Sandy%20Hook
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%209
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