Air Arabia announced a fourth quarter 2020 net profit of AED 20 million (US $5.4 million) on a 53 percent decline in revenue to AED $536 million (US $146 million) compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.
On Wednesday (February 10, 2021), Air Arabia announced their fourth quarter 2020 financial results with a net profit of AED 20 million (US $5.4 million) on a 53 percent year-over-year decline in revenue to AED 536 million (US $146 million). During the fourth quarter, the airline carried over 1.2 million guests across five hubs. For the full year 2020, Air Arabia reported a net loss of AED 192 million (US $52.3 million) on revenue of AED 1.85 billion (US $503.6 million), and served 4.4 million customers. In Wednesday’s announcement, Air Arabia’s Chairman, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, said,
“Air Arabia’s ability to record a profitable fourth quarter despite the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a testament to the robust business model it operates. The early measures taken by the management team to control overall cost and the gradual resumption of flights, albeit to a limited number of destinations, helped in achieving profits in the fourth quarter and in significantly reducing the net loss for the full year. Despite the strong start of the year in early 2020, the impact of the pandemic on the global aviation industry, which quickly materialized in airport closures and travel restrictions, forced airlines worldwide to battle the biggest challenge faced in the history of aviation.
“While the year 2021 continues to be a challenging one for the industry, we remain confident about the fundamentals of the aviation sector and the vital role air travel will continue to play in economic recovery. At Air Arabia, we remain focused on adopting further measures to help improve the overall cost structure of the group and will continue to gradually resume operations where possible.”
During 2020, the company launched Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, which was formed following an agreement with Etihad Airways to form the UAE capital’s first low-cost carrier. Air Arabia also added a total of 14 new routes to their global network from hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt. The airline launched service between Sharjah and Tashkent in November, as well as from Casablanca to Rennes and Guelmim in December. Additionally, the airline started a new route to Malaga from both Casablanca and Nador and launched nine new routes from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Alexandria, Cairo, Sohag, Dhaka, Kabul, Chattogram, Khartoum, Muscat and Salalah.
Air Arabia also took delivery of two new Airbus A321neoLRs and ended the year with a fleet of 57 Airbus A320/A321 aircraft. The airline celebrated 17 years of successful operations in October 2020, having transformed air travel in the greater MENA region by carrying over 100 million guests since inception. Last October, Air Arabia ranked first on Airfinance Journal’s list of top 100 global airlines for their strong performance and community efforts.
Air Arabia operates scheduled, charter, and cargo flights across five hubs in the MENA region. In July 2020, the company launched Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital’s first low-cost carrier (LCC) in cooperation with Etihad Airways. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi’s services complement those of Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi by catering to the growing LCC market in the region.
Source: Air Arabia