KUWAIT — Kuwait's low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways has posted a 14.2 percent annual increase in second-quarter net profit on the back of rising passenger demand. Net profit for the April to June period was 3.2 million Kuwaiti dinars. Revenue rose 1.5 percent to 13.2m dinars year-on-year, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The strong growth during the second quarter was driven by “an increase in demand and higher load factor”, which rose 4.1 percent compared with the same period last year, it said. Load factor refers to the number of seats which an airline fills, as opposed to the available seats. Last year Jazeera carried a total of 1.2 million passengers across its network, which includes Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut and Istanbul. Jazeera's half-year net profit was up by 27.1 per cent year-on-year to 6.2m dinars. Jazeera Airways said early this week that it would start flights to Assiut in Egypt from September. The airline flew to Assiut from August 2006 until June 2014, before the airport closed for repairs. The carrier was established in 2005, which ended the dominance of Kuwait Airways. Jazeera operates a business class along with economy class. In May, Jazeera said it was interested in a stake in Kuwait Airways when it formally submitted a letter of intent to acquire 35 percent in the airline.
But the Kuwaiti government reached an initial deal in June to increase its stake in Kuwait Airways to 75 percent, potentially delaying or throwing off any privatization plans. — SG
