São Paulo – The Jordanian airline Royal Jordanian registered a net profit of JOD 16 million (USD 22.6 million) in 2015, against a loss of JOD 39.6 million (USD 55.9 million) in the previous year, according to information from Jordan News Agency (Petra).
According to the news agency, the president of the company’s council, Suleiman Al Hafez, celebrated the positive results in a moment in which airlines and tourism in the region are being strongly affected by the conflicts in neighboring countries such as Syria and Iraq. He added that the company managed to reduce its operational costs in 22% from 2014 to 2015.
“The fall in fuel prices last year offset in part the decline in revenues, which occurred due to the falling of ticket prices pushed down by the strong competition in the sector”, said the executive, according to Petra. Lower costs with fuel also helped to offset losses with the cancellation of flights to Sana’a and Aden, in Yemen, due to the conflict in the country in the Arabian Peninsula.
On the other hand, the company increased the frequency of the flights to destinations that presented an increase in demand, especially in high season.
According to the agency, Hafez attributed the performance also to the efficiency and loyalty of the staff and the implementation of the 2015-2019 business plan.
According to Petra, the plan includes constant fleet renewal, measures to increase revenues and reduce costs, actions to increase the company’s market share, search for opportunities to grow, improvement on quality of services and maintaining the top position in the Levant region.
Royal Jordanian is one of the airlines in the Arab world that operates aircrafts made in Brazil. The company has a fleet of 27 Boeing, Airbus and Embraer aircrafts, and has routes to 55 destinations, according to its website.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
