Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s first and only discount airline, flynas, will make money for the first time since it launched in 2007, Chief Executive Paul Byrne declared on Tuesday.
The airline has cut back on flights on unprofitable routes, adjusted flight timings and on Sunday introduced a Jeddah-Riyadh shuttle service, Byrne told Gulf News at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai.
“We fly a little bit smarter now,” he said.
The Jeddah-Riyadh shuttle service operates every hour on the half-hour, competing with Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) who operate a shuttle service on the hour.
Byrne, citing “remarkable” load factors on existing flights to Jeddah and Riyadh, said he was bullish on the new shuttle service.
“The profit number [for 2015] should be pleasing to our shareholders … we will be profitable,” Byrne said earlier at a press conference announcing the airlines new loyalty programme ‘nasmiles’
Byrne had previously said the airline would break even this year and that he hoped for a “small profit.”
Byrne, who previously served as a commercial consultant to flynas, has been steering the Riyadh-based airline’s turnaround since taking over as chief executive last year.
Flynas is also in negotiations to lease to lease two Airbus A320s, Byrne said, and is likely to add two to three aircraft to its fleet each year going forward.
Flynas is 37 per cent owned by Saudi investment firm Kingdom Holding and the rest is held by National Air Services Holding.
