Royal Jordanian has reported an eight per cent increase in revenues for October 2011 compared to the same month the previous year.

The up-tick is attributed to the great and diligent efforts made inside and outside the Kingdom to strengthen its position and increase its market share, the carrier said earlier.

Royal Jordanian president Hussein Dabbas noted the progress among operational performance indicators achieved in October, in terms of number of passengers and frequency and flying hours.

Dabbas said that RJ’s operating revenues reached JD60.2 million during the month, compared to JD55.7 million during the same month last year; this led to a rise in the operating profit, which reached JD18.8 million, excluding fuel cost.

During the same month last year, the revenues stood at JD17.5 million, marking a 7.1 per cent increase.

The operating cost – excluding fuel cost – rose from JD38 million in October 2010 to JD41 million in October 2011 as a result of operational traffic growth and an increase in the number of frequencies and flying hours.

Dabbas added that the continuous fluctuation of fuel prices was the major reason that prevented the airline from achieving a net profit in the mentioned month.

He pointed out that the fuel bill paid by the company last month amounted to JD24.2 million, while it had reached JD17 million in October 2010, marking an increase of JD 7.2 million, or 42 per cent.

Dabbas also said that RJ suffered from a decline in tourism and travel to the region, particularly from Europe, due to the Arab Spring.

At the same time, the airline has been suffering from soaring fuel prices since the beginning of this year.

The total fuel bill paid by the airline since the beginning of 2011 until the end of October amounted to JD246 million, compared to JD 168 million in the same period of 2010, representing a 46.2 per cent increase.

The chairman attributed the increase in company revenues during last October to the great and diligent efforts made inside and outside the Kingdom to strengthen its position and increase its market share, in an attempt to overcome the difficulties experienced by the global air transport industry this year.

Royal Jordanian carried 263,000 passengers during October, while it carried 250,000 passengers in the same month last year, marking a five per cent increase.

Arab Air Carriers Organisation

The 44th annual general meeting of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation in Abu Dhabi will bring together the chief executives of 25 member airlines - of which Royal Jordanian is one - in addition to a large number of aviation stake-holders for the key aviation event in the Middle East.

To see more on the event click here.