Dubai - Mubasher: Air Arabia, the Sharjah-based low-cost airline, has reported a 75% year-on-year surge in net profit for the second quarter of 2019.

Net profit reached AED 210 million during the three-month ended 30 June 2019, compared to AED 120 million in Q2-18, according to a press release.

The company has also recorded a turnover of AED 1.144 billion for Q2-19, up 22% from AED 938 million in the year-ago period.

The healthy Q2-19 financial results were supported by steady growth in passenger demand as the Emirati carrier has served around 3 million passengers from its four hubs in the UAE, Morocco, and Egypt, up 16% from 2.59 million passengers carried in Q2-18.

Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia, commented: “We are glad the strong Air Arabia performance witnessed in the first quarter of this year continued in the second quarter driven by our cost control measures, improved yield margins and strong passenger demand”.

As for the first half of 2019, Air Arabia has achieved a net profit of AED 338 million, up 47% year-on-year from AED 230 million.

The company’s turnover for H1-19 grew by 20% to AED 2.173 billion from AED 1.816 billion in H1-18.

The number of passengers served by Air Arabia from all its four hubs during the six-month period ended 30 June 2019 rose by 12% year-on-year.

In H1-19, the company has received its first brand new Airbus A321 neo LR airplane, the first of five aircraft to be delivered in 2019, bringing its total fleet size to 54 aircraft.

At the operational level, the airline has expanded at its Egypt hub with new flights connecting Sharm El Sheikh to Milan Bergamo, Amman, and Luxor; as well as Sohag to Riyadh.

Moreover, it has added 10 new routes to its global network, as well as commenced flights at its hub in Morocco from Casablanca to Lisbon, Pisa, Prague, and Tunis and started new flights between Tangier and Lyon; Fez and Rome.

Air Arabia also revealed that it has launched four new destinations from its main hub in Sharjah to Kuala Lumpur, Tunis, Vienna, and Bishkek with flights set to begin in Q3-19.

The company also announced the launch of its new complimentary in-flight entertainment system, SkyTime, which enables passengers to live stream digital content on smartphones, tablets, or laptops while traveling with the carrier.

It is worth noting that Air Arabia currently operates flights to more than 170 global destinations in 50 countries from four hubs in the UAE, Morocco, and Egypt.