Having operated at a loss of US$43.5 million in 2018, the United Arab Emirates’ carrier flydubai has posted a profit of 198.2 million dirhams (US$54 million) for 2019, the reversal in fortune partially helped by a compensation agreement with Boeing over the grounding of the 737 MAX jet in which an interim settlement has been agreed and talks are ongoing over the continued grounding.
Chief Executive Ghaith al-Ghaith said in a statement on Wednesday that: “This agreement has contributed towards this year’s results, but in no way can it compensate for the loss of business opportunity or market share experienced by the airline.”
The Gulf carrier currently has 14 MAX jets which have been grounded since last March and has seen its operational fleet size shrink by 25% with the addition of a number of older aircraft that have been retired. To overcome many of the problems caused by the MAX grounding flydubai has been leasing other 737 variants on an interim basis. Revenue in 2019 fell by 2.6% - 6 billion dirhams (US$1.63 billion) compared to 2018, operating costs fell 17.8% and the carrier flew 9.6 million passengers compared to 11 million in 2018.
“The preparation for this year’s outlook statement is challenging given the uncertainty around the timetable for the return to service of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and the subsequent aircraft delivery schedule,” Ghaith al-Ghaith added.
Source: AviTrader
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