Air Arabia reports net profit of AED103 million

May 10, 2017: Air Arabia reported a net profit of AED103 million for the three months ending March 31, 2017, a 10 percent less than the corresponding 2016 figure of AED114 million.

In the same period, the airline posted a turnover of AED810 million, a 14 percent less than the corresponding first quarter of last year.

The results were recorded amidst the continuous drop in the yield margins that the industry witnessed in the first quarter of this year; and the cost control measures taken by the carrier.

More than 2.1 million passengers flew with Air Arabia between January and March 2017, in line with the record number of passengers carried in the first quarter of last year.

The airline’s average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – during the first three months of 2017 stood at an impressive 81 per cent.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia however stroke a different chord saying, “We are glad to see Air Arabia recording strong first quarter financial results despite the impact of lower yield margins that the industry continued to witness in the first quarter of this year. The strong measures that we took in driving cost margins lower while optimizing revenue opportunities have proven once again the resilient and dynamic business model that we operate.”

He added, “We continue to witness strong passenger demand for Air Arabia’s innovative and value added services and we remain confident of the growth prospects of the low cost travel segment in the region. We believe the market economic and trading conditions are on an improving trajectory and we are optimistic that this will reflect positively on the industry’s performance for the rest of the year.”