| Kippreport.com

Air Arabia reports $123 million net profit

February 13, 2010 8:03 by kippreport

Budget airline Air Arabia, which serves the Middle East and North Africa from its base in Sharjah, made a AED452 million ($123 million) profit for 2009, down slightly on its takings for 2008.

The airline said in a statement that it saw turnover of AED2 billion last year, a decline of 4.5 percent from AED2.066 billion recorded in 2008. Its net profit was down by AED2 million, from AED454 million in 2008.

The airline served 4.1 million passengers in 2009, an increase of 14.2 per cent compared to 3.6 million passengers in 2008. In the 12 months ending December 31, 2009, Air Arabia’s average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – stood at 80 per cent.

The results demonstrate “continued profitability and very high levels of efficiency during an enormously challenging period for airlines worldwide”, Air Arabia said in a statement.

Tags: air arabia, budget airlines, low-cost airlines