Royal Jordanian (RJ) airlines' operational revenues grew by 33 percent in the first half of 2008, compared to the same period in 2007, president and CEO Samer Majali said on Saturday. The airline registered JD315 million this year against JD236 million in the same period last year. The revenues exceeded the estimates set for this time of the year. This record increase in revenues resulted from a 21 percent increase in the number of passengers from 1 million passengers in the first six months of 2007 to 1,225,000 passengers this year. The company's commendable marketing efforts, improved product and distinguished onboard services led to these good results, Majali said. He added that the seat factor rose by 5 percent to reach 71 percent. The big growth in the number passengers came despite the fact that demand on travel in the first six months is usually less than that in the second half of the year, particularly during the summer season. Majali also said that the uplifted cargo grew by 21 percent in comparison to last year's first half. Freight revenues also rose from JD17 million in the first half of 2007 to JD21 million in 2008. However, the operational expenses of the company increased 37 percent from JD230 million in the first six months of 2007 to JD316 million in the first six months of this year due to the high rise in jet fuel costs, which increased 91 percent to JD131 million, against JD68 million in the corresponding period of 2007. The flying hours rose by 18 percent only. __
