Air Arabia (PJSC), the Middle East and North Africa’s first and largest low-cost carrier, today announced strong financial results for the third quarter of this year ending September 30, 2019 as the carrier deliver solid operational and financial performance.

Air Arabia registered a record net profit of AED 471 million for the three months ending September 30, 2019; an increase of 57 per cent compared to the AED 300 million reported for the same period last year. The company’s turnover for the third quarter of 2019 increased by 12 per cent to AED 1.438 billion, compared to AED 1.282 billion in the corresponding period last year.

The strong third quarter financial results were backed by solid growth in passenger demand during this period with Air Arabia serving over 3.4 million passengers from its four hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt, an increase of 10 per cent compared to the number of passengers carried in the same quarter last year. The average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – for the same quarter stood at an impressive 82 per cent.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia said: “Air Arabia’s record performance in the third quarter of this year reflects the strength of the business model we operate and the added value we bring to our customers everyday.”

He added: “We are glad that the strong Air Arabia performance witnessed in the first half of this year continued in the third quarter driven by higher customer demand, robust growth strategy and the cost control measures adopted by the management team.”

Equally, Air Arabia reported strong set of results for the first nine months ending September 30, 2019 registering a record net profit of AED 809 million; a 53 per cent increase compared to AED 530 million reported for the same period last year. The company’s turnover for the first nine months of 2019 exceeded AED 3.611 billion, an increase of 17 per cent compared to AED 3 billion in the corresponding period last year. Air Arabia served over 9.2 million passengers from all its four hubs in the first nine months of 2019, an increase of 11 per cent compared to the same period of 2018. The average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of available seats – for the same period stood at an impressive 83 per cent.

Al Thani continued: “While Air Arabia managed to register record performance year to date, we remain focused on driving operational efficiency across board and delivering optimum value to our customers.”

He added: “The current economic and trading conditions are impacting the aviation industry around the world, especially in the MENA region where we continue to witness unsettling geopolitical escalations and pressing economic challenges. Nonetheless, Air Arabia will cautiously continue with its growth plans and expanding its geographic reach while we remain committed to providing affordable and value driven air travel to our customers.”

During the first nine months of 2019, Air Arabia received two brand new Airbus A321 neo LR airplanes bringing its total fleet size to 55 aircraft. The new Airbus A321, which accommodates 215 passengers, is helping the carrier expand to new medium-haul markets in addition to strengthening the existing routes with increased seat capacity.

Air Arabia added a total of 12 new routes to its global network in the first nine months of this year. Flights from Air Arabia’s main hub in the UAE commenced from Sharjah to Vienna in Austria; Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan; and Tunis City in Tunis. The carrier also expanded its operation from its Morocco hub with new flights between Casablanca and Lisbon, Pisa, Prague and Tunis while new flights started between Tangier and Lyon. New flights from the carrier’s hub in Egypt started from Sharm El Sheikh to Milan Bergamo, Amman and Napoli; as well as Sohag to Riyadh.

During the first nine months of 2019, Air Arabia launched its new complimentary in-flight entertainment system ‘SkyTime’ that allows passengers to live stream digital content on smartphones, tablets or laptops while traveling with the carrier.

The carrier received the ‘Best Low-Cost Carrier Award’ by Oman Airports and in October was named ‘Low-Cost Airline of the Year’ by Aviation Business Awards.

Additionally, the carrier announced in October the signing of an agreement with Etihad Aviation Group to launch “Air Arabia Abu Dhabi”, the capital’s first low-cost carrier.

Air Arabia today operates flights to over 170 global destinations in 50 countries from four hubs in the UAE, Morocco, and Egypt.