Air Arabia announced record financial results for the first quarter of 2016, exceeding expectations as the first and largest low cost carrier in the Middle East.
The carrier announced that more than 2.1 million passengers flew with them in the first three months of 2016. It reflects a 17% increase over the same period last year. The airline’s average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – during the first three months of 2016 stood at an impressive 81 per cent.
Air Arabia reported a net profit of AED114 million, a 34 percent higher than the corresponding 2015 figure of AED85 million. In the same period, the airline posted a turnover of AED946 million, an increase of 7 percent on AED886 million in the first quarter of last year.
Air Arabia added two new routes from its main hub in Sharjah during Q1. In March, it began direct flights between Sharjah and Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was followed by news that Air Arabia will operate seasonal direct flights from Sharjah to Batumi, Georgia, between July and September to cater to summer tourist demand. In addition, Air Arabia added three new routes in the first quarter of this year from its operating hubs in Morocco and Jordan
