Air Arabia Posts 126% Rise In Q3 Profit

Sharjah-based low-cost carrier Air Arabia announced that its third quarter net profit increased 126 per cent to Dhs226 million, up from Dhs100 million in Q3 2011.

The carrier’s turnover for the third quarter reached Dhs836 million, an increase of 19 per cent compared to the same period last year, it said in a statement.

The airline also registered a 14 per cent increase in passenger traffic to 1,368,728 million, and its average seat load factor in the third quarter stood at 82 per cent.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Al Thani, Air Arabia’s chairman, attributed the positive results to the airline’s “strong business model, excellent cost control margins and its prudent growth strategy.”

“The sustained profitability and solid growth margins signal that Air Arabia is on a steady growth trajectory. The extremely positive financials further validates our concerted efforts to unlock opportunities for the low-cost model,” he added.

Air Arabia’s net profit for the first nine months of year stood at Dhs342 million, 75 per cent higher compared to Dhs195 million for the same period in 2011. Turnover during the period rose 21 per cent year-on-year to reach Dhs2.187 billion.

The airline carried around 3.9 million passengers during the first nine months of 2012, while the average seat load reached 83 per cent.

Air Arabia added three new destinations in the previous quarter including Erbil in Iraq, Uffa in Russia and Odessa in Ukraine; it expanded operations from its hubs in Morocco and Egypt, and announced launch of additional four routes in October 2012, bringing its global network to 81 destinations.

Sheikh Al Thani said: “We will continue to enter into new markets and launch new ventures, while providing our customers with an even wider choice of value-for-money travel options.”