Air Arabia today reported a net profit of AED114 million for the three months ending March 31st, 2016, 34 percent higher than the corresponding 2015 figure of AED85 million. In the same period, the airline posted a turnover of AED946 million, an increase of 7 percent on AED886 million in the first quarter of last year.

The airline flew more than 2.1 million passengers between January and March 2016, up 17 percent on the corresponding period last year. The airline's average seat load factor – or passengers carried as a percentage of availabble seats – during the first three months of 2016 stood at an impressive 81 percent.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia, said, "Air Arabia has made an excellent start to 2016, maintaining the momentum we established last year and attracting new customers to our brand. Our operational efficiency allied to the success of our route expansion strategy and the popularity of our value-add service proposition leaves Air Arabia well placed to navigate the current macro-economic challenges and benefit from the many opportunities in the region's aviation sector."