On Sunday, budget carrier Air Arabia revealed that its net profit had increased by as much as 57% in Q3 of this year due to a rise in the passenger numbers that the airline is carrying.
Air Arabia, which is the only listed carrier in the United Arab Emirates, listed profits of Dh809m for the first nine months of 2019.
This is a rise of 53% in comparison to the profits recorded in the same time period in 2018, which came to Dh530m.
The increase comes as the airline carried more than 3.4m passengers in Q3 of 2019 from its four main hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt.
Year-on-year passenger traffic has increased by 10%.
High customer demand, cost control measures and a growth strategy backed the quarter’s earnings, according to Air Arabia.
The world’s aviation industry is being impacted by current trading and economic conditions, particularly in the region of the Middle East and North Africa, says Air Arabia chairman Shaikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani.
The results of those conditions are urgent economic challenges and disturbing geopolitical escalations.
However, Al Thani says that the airline is intending to “cautiously continue” its plans for growth with the expansion of its geographic reach while continuing to offer customers affordable travel choices.
The carrier’s revenues so far in 2019 have also been higher in terms of year on year, with Q3 hitting a high of Dh1.4bn, a rise of as much as 12%.
The first nine months of 2019 saw revenues increase by 17% to Dh3.6bn, with the carrier serving more than 9.2m passengers during this time, itself an increase of 11%.
On the operational front, the airline gained two brand-new Airbus A321neo aircraft in 2019, with the total number of aircraft in its fleet now standing at 55.
These new jets are intended to enable the airline’s expansion to new medium-haul markets while also increasing the number of available seats on its current routes.
The airline is currently in discussions with manufacturers in regard to an order of more than 100 new aircraft, though there are no finalised plans for this as yet.
Last month, Air Arabia made the announcement that it had reached a deal with Etihad Aviation Group in order to launch Air Arabia Abu Dhabi.
This is the first time that a low-cost carrier has actually been based in the capital city of the UAE, though details of the plans or operations of the new airline have not yet been discussed by either company.
Anyone who is planning to fly with Air Arabia or any other carrier in or out of the UAE will need to take out travel insurance before they do so.
Travel insurance is a great way for travellers to ensure that they are protected from the potentially financially adverse consequences of unexpected events that can happen during travel.
These events can include the likes of lost luggage, cancelled flights or being involved in an accident while overseas.
