Air Arabia profit rises 30% in third quarter

Sharjah: Air Arabia on Saturday announced a 30 per cent increase in its third quarter net profits to Dh214 million, compared to Dh165 million during the third quarter of 2007.

For the third quarter ended on September 30, the company posted a turnover of Dh625 million, up 69 per cent compared to Dh369 million during the third quarter of last year.

"Such positive results demonstrate our ability to deliver sustained growth and excellent returns to our investors. These results are also a clear indication that our passengers have confidence in our efforts and continue to benefit from our industry-leading low fares," said Adel Ali, Board Member and Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia.

"This quarter has been busy and special, and with its conclusion came the start of our five-year anniversary celebratory month. As we look ahead toward the next five years, we intend to continue in the same vein - to grow our fleet of aircraft, expand our network of destinations and continue to offer the very best value-for-money service throughout the regions we serve and beyond," Ali added.

The positive financial results for Air Arabia in the third quarter of 2008 reflect a continued upward trend for the carrier.

For the first nine months of 2008, the company posted a net profit of Dh374 million, up 34 per cent compared to Dh280 million during the same period last year.

For the same period, the company posted a turnover of Dh1,495 million, up 68 per cent compared to Dh889 million in the first nine months of 2007.

In the first nine months of 2008, the airline served a total of 2,601,967 passengers, an increase of 33 per cent compared to 1,954,982 passengers during the first nine months in 2007.

While the airline reported an average seat load factor of 87 per cent in the third quarter of 2008 it served 978,794 passengers, an increase of 34 per cent compared to 729,745 passengers during the same period in 2007.

In the last quarter Air Arabia secured the "Best Low-Cost Airline Award - Middle East and Africa" at the World Low-Cost Airline Awards held in London.