Jazeera Airways records KD 11.8 million profit in Q3 2021
Dhaka: Jazeera Airways on November 1 reported a return to profitability in the third quarter of the year, registering KD 11.8 million, following an ease in travel restrictions and increase in vaccinations in Kuwait and throughout the airline’s network.
Number of passengers flown in Q3 increased by 361.8 per cent to 302.9 thousand, while the load factor increased by 26.7 per cent to 65.6 per cent despite the restrictions that were still imposed on capacity at Kuwait International Airport during the quarter.
Operating revenue stood at KD 31.7 million, up 421.7 per cent from Q3 2020, and operating profit was KD 12.8 million, up 332.2 per cent from Q3 2020 with an operating margin of 40.5 per cent.
The company successfully offset previous losses to report a net profit of KD 70.6 thousand supported by an increase in operating revenue by 44.2 per cent to reach KD 47.3 million during the nine months period of 2021.
Commenting on the results, Jazeera Airways Chairman, Marwan Boodai, said, “Jazeera is returning to profitability earlier than our previous forecast for Q4, a positive sign for our airline which successfully mitigated the impact of the pandemic by implementing decisive measures to safeguard its financial position and liquidity, as well as to protect shareholders and customers’ rights.”
“Our strong earnings in Q3 are attributed to an evident appetite for travel, as well as to new destinations launched by Jazeera by end of June, catering to that appetite. Despite continued limitations in the number of returning passengers at Kuwait International Airport until the end of the quarter, our load factor continued to increase as well as yield driven by limited supply.”
Nine-Month Review
Jazeera launched eight new routes during the nine-month period of 2021, serving popular tourist and expat destinations that comprised Colombo (Sri Lanka), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Yerevan (Armenia), Antalya (Turkey) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in addition to London Heathrow airport as the first low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East to operate direct flights to the airport.
The airline also rolled out its summer schedule with favourite destinations for tourists, such as the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and other popular summer destinations including Tbilisi (Georgia), Trabzon and Bodrum (Turkey).
Jazeera also took delivery of three Airbus A320neo aircraft during the year as part of an order for four A320neos to be delivered by the end of 2021, which will bring the fleet to 17 aircraft.
Jazeera Terminal T5 also returned to profit in 3Q2021 as more passengers flew during the quarter with a net profit of KD 400.5 thousand compared to a net loss of KD 567.1 thousand in the same quarter last year.
