Air Arabia reports net profit of AED 245 million in first half of 2016

Air Arabia reported a net profit of AED 245 million for the first half of 2016 ending June 30, 2016, an increase of 3.5 per cent compared to the AED 237 million reported for the same period last year. The company’s turnover for the first six months of 2016 reached AED 1.84 billion, compared to AED 1.75 billion in the corresponding period last year, an increase of 5.5 per cent.

Marking robust growth in passenger demand, Air Arabia flew 4.1 million passengers during the first half of 2016 – up 14 per cent on the corresponding period last year. The airline’s average seat load factor for the first six months of 2016 - passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – stood at impressive 79 per cent.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia said: “Air Arabia’s strong financial results are a testament to the airline’s unwavering commitment to delivering on its value-added proposition for customers combined with its operational efficiency and the effectiveness of its wider growth strategy. Despite the continuous pressure on yield margins that airlines are witnessing and the challenges associated with the regional economic outlook, Air Arabia continues to deliver solid financial performance and momentum growth”. He added: “We remain optimistic about the outlook of low-cost travel in the wider region as we continue to focus on further expanding our network and operational efficiency as well as leveraging on emerging travel trends by delivering even more value to our customers”.