Flydubai records 17.4% increase in 2017 profit

Low cost carrier Flydubai has recorded a 17.44 per cent increase in 2017 profit, the airline said on Wednesday

Profit for the year stood at $10.1m (Dhs37.3m) compared to $8.6m in 2016.

Revenue increased 9.2 per cent from $1.37bn to $1.5bn and passenger numbers crew 5.5 per cent to 10.9 million.

“The oil price continues to shape the business landscape and it remains a fine balance between fares, yields and passenger growth,” said Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith.

He indicated a new generation of Boeing 737 Maxs entering the carrier’s fleet over the coming years should benefit fuel efficiency.

The carrier has a total of 295 aircraft on order, including a $27bn commitment for 175 jets and purchase options for 50 more made at last November’s Dubai Airshow.

Read: Flydubai orders 225 Boeing 737 Max aircraft

StrategicAero Research chief analyst Saj Ahmad said replacing some early 737-800s with the new Maxs could let the airline rein in costs and allow it to penetrate new markets in Europe inaccessible to rivals operating Airbus A320s.

Read: Flydubai to begin flights to Krakow, Catania in 2018

“Given the swathe of routes that flydubai has opened up to date, the fuel efficient 737 MAXs will give the airline far more impetus to capture more market share and remain the GCC’s number one low cost airline,” he said.

Flydubai is in the early stages of a partnership with government-owned sister airline Emirates that is expected to boost traffic in 2018.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who chairs both airlines said the arrangement had seen a “significant response from passengers” and it would create “new passengers flows going forward”.

Read: Emirates, flydubai announce new codeshare routes