Air Arabia said its first-quarter profit gained 9 per cent as the largest low-cost carrier in the Middle East introduced new destinations and brought more passengers on board.
As crude oil prices flounder and violence flares in Yemen, the Sharjah-based carrier said it would not let political and financial headwinds dent its expansion plans.
Net income increased to Dh78.1 million from Dh71.6m in the same period last year, the company said. The number of passengers carried by Air Arabia in the first quarter increased 10 per cent to 1.8 million from 1.6 million in the same period last year.
“While the regional political uncertainty combined with the fluctuating oil price continue to pose additional pressure on the aviation industry, we remain focused on expanding operations and entering new markets,” said Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed, Air Arabia’s chairman.
“We are confident that our appealing product offering and our focus on making air travel accessible to millions of customers across the region will continue to drive our growth in 2015.”
Air Arabia started its service to Urumqi in the first quarter, becoming the first low-cost carrier from the region to fly to China, and opened its fifth hub in Amman. It also started flights to Gizan in Saudi Arabia, Multan in Pakistan, Isfahan in Iran, Doha, Kathmandu, Naples in Italy and Montpellier in France from hubs in Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Casablanca. The company also started a loyalty programme this year.
Air Arabia said its so-called average seat-load factor, or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats, during the first three months of 2015 was 81 per cent.
Last year, Air Arabia opened its second hub in the UAE and fourth worldwide at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport following a long-term strategic partnership with Ras Al Khaimah’s Department of Civil Aviation.
RAK International Airport expects to boost passenger traffic by as much as a third this year after a turbulent recent history.
The addition of services from Air Arabia has helped to compensate for the loss of the low-cost carrier RAK Airways, which last year announced that it was grounding all flights until further notice because of mounting financial woes.
mkassem@thenational.ae
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