Air Arabia announces third quarter 2010 net profit of Dhs136m ($37m)

Air Arabia's net profit for the three months ending 30 September, 2010 was in line with last year's performance and stood at Dhs136m ($37m), a 5.6% decline compared to Dhs144m ($39m) in the corresponding period in 2009. In the third quarter of this year, Air Arabia posted a turnover of Dhs568m ($154), an increase of 4% compared to Dhs548m ($149) in the same period of 2009.

The airline served 1,147,066 passengers in the third quarter of 2010, an increase of 14% compared to 1,007,680 passengers in the same period last year. In the three months ending September 30, 2010, Air Arabia's average seat load factor - or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats - stood at an impressive 84%, an increase of 8.5% compared to same period of 2009.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia said: "Air Arabia is pleased to announce such positive financial performance despite continued challenging market conditions.

"Air Arabia continues to post sustained quarterly profits with a high seat load factor and rising passenger traffic.

"The delivery of the first of our 44 aircraft is a milestone, allowing us to further strengthen our operations. "As we mark our seventh anniversary, we will continue to provide value-for-money offerings and innovative products that have benefited over 15 million passengers that we have served."

Above: Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia.

In the third quarter of 2010, Air Arabia took delivery of the first of 44 A320 aircraft ordered in 2007 and 2008 (34 placed in 2007 and 10 placed in 2008), also marking the airline's seventh anniversary.

Operations of Air Arabia (Egypt) and Air Arabia (Maroc) have also grown, introducing new destinations and increasing frequencies to existing ones. Air Arabia also expanded its service to the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, from the carrier's primary hub in Sharjah, UAE, offering twice-daily flights to the Himalayan city.

Air Arabia has been recognised as the 'Best Managed Company in the Middle East - Airlines and Aviation', in Euromoney's annual survey.