Royal Jordanian (RJ), the national carrier of the kingdom, registered a net profit before tax of JD21 million ($29.5 million) in 2015, while in 2014 it had registered JD49.5 million net losses before tax.

The net profit after tax reached JD16 million, while in 2014 the company had registered JD39.6 million in net losses.

Suleiman Hafez, chairman of RJ, attributed the growth to the efficiency and loyalty of the staff, and to the company's keenness to implement the company’s business plan 2015-2019.

The plan focuses on constant renewal of the fleet and review of the route network, restructuring in all areas, taking measures to increase revenues and reduce operating costs, working to increase the company’s market share, looking for available growth opportunities, all the while improving the quality of services and maintaining the airline's leading position in the Levant.

Hafez expressed satisfaction with the company’s positive results that can be considered a quantum leap, particularly at this point in time when air transportation is strongly affected by the instability in Jordan's neighbouring countries which negatively influences travel and tourism both to the kingdom and the Middle East.

Hafez pointed out that in the first nine months of 2015 the company registered JD27 million profits before tax.

He added that the airline's policy of cost control resulted in reducing the operating cost in 2015 by 22 per cent, mentioning that operating costs amounted to JD715 million in 2014, against JD559 million in 2015.

The chairman said that the fall in fuel prices last year partially offset the drop in revenues; that was due to lower ticket prices imposed by fierce competition in the sector. The lower fuel prices also helped offset some of the JD12.3 million losses incurred due to suspending destinations like Sana’a and Aden for security reasons.

Hafez also pointed out that the operating efficiency had a role in reaching these positive results.  RJ shut down a number of stations in light of their weak economic feasibility and, consequently, reduced the number of its aircraft.

The stations are Delhi, Mumbai, Colombo, Lagos, Accra, Milan, Alexandria and Al-Ain.

At the same time, RJ started reaching new destinations, like Tabuk, Najaf, Ankara, Jakarta and Guangzhou, the last to be launched next week.

Hafez added that last year, the company increased the frequency of flights to certain destinations in response to the greater demand for travel, particularly in the peak seasons.

For instance, the flights to Aqaba increased from 11 to 16 weekly, with changes to the flight schedules to meet passengers’ needs, Hafez explained.

Flights to eight destinations are still halted due to security reasons; they are Damascus, Aleppo, Mosul, Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata, Sanaa and Aden.  – TradeArabia News Service