Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Jazeera Airways Q1 net profit plunges 41.8pc

Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways, a leading low-cost carrier in the region, has reported a net profit of KD2.1 million ($7.45 million) for the first three months (Q1) of the year, which is 41.8 per cent lower than the profit for Q1 of 2013.

Revenues for the first quarter reached KD13.8 million, down 6.1 per cent from Q1 of 2013. Operating profit also fell by 37.7 per cent from Q1 2013 to KD2.8 million in the first quarter of 2014.

“Our results this year constitute the highest Q1 earnings in the history of the Group, second to only 2013’s Q1 results, which was an exceptional quarter as we reported last year,” said  Jazeera Airways Group Chairman Marwan Boodai.

“Our outlook for the year remains unchanged and we expect to register bottom line growth driven by an exceptional summer season with the holy month of Ramadan falling earlier in the season. We look forward to another growth year reinforced by investments in our product, investments that will bolster the on-ground experience and clearly distinguish Jazeera Airways from competitors.”

Following years of successful investments in the Jazeera Airways’ value offering, booking and technology services, Jazeera Airways is currently in the last stages of launching a dedicated gates facility at Kuwait International Airport, he said.

This latest invest in dedicated gates, which will have the most advanced bridges at Kuwait International Airport, will enable Jazeera Airways to offer a better, easier, and more streamlined boarding experience for customers, Boodai noted.

“We’re excited to share with our customers that by June 1 flying with Jazeera Airways will be a streamlined experience from check-in to boarding to flight. With our new exclusive gates at Kuwait Airport, our customers will no longer be exposed to the airport’s gates’ congestion during peak times. This investment will significantly bolster our product offering,” Boodai said.

Jazeera Airways Group’s investment in Kuwait Airport will lift the airport’s gates capacity by 30 per cent.

In addition to its on-ground investment, Jazeera Airways also announced it will begin serving Istanbul through the city’s primary airport, Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST), with five flights a week starting from May 2 instead of the Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW), to which the airline has served since 2008.

The move to Istanbul Atatürk Airport bolsters the airline’s Istanbul service by enabling it to offer travelers better flight schedules to an airport that is at the heart of the city.

The airline will also increase its service to Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central to daily flights, starting from May 1.  The service complements scheduled daily flights to Dubai International Airport.

Jazeera Airways will maintain convenient timings and frequencies to both Dubai airports, for business, leisure, weekend and same day travels, averaging 24 return flights a week.

The airline operates a two-class cabin comprising of a Business Class and an Economy Class. Jazeera Airways is based in Kuwait and operates a network comprising high-demand business, leisure, family, and weekend destinations such as Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut, Alexandria, Amman, Istanbul, Sharm El Sheikh, Assiut, Luxor, Mashhad, Sohag, Jeddah, Riyadh, Cairo and Al Najaf.

Jazeera Airways is an Iata-member airline and operates one of the youngest Airbus A320 fleets in the Middle East. – TradeArabia News Service