Flydubai announced yesterday its semi-annual financial results for the year ended 30 June 2019, recording a loss of AED 196.7 million, a decrease of 38% compared to the same period last year, while revenues stabilized at AED 2.8 billion. The financial results were affected by the suspension of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Passenger numbers fell 7.5% to 5 million passengers in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2018, due to reduced seat capacity, the airline said in a statement.

Costs

Fuel costs amounted to AED 740 million, compared to AED 895 million for the same period last year, a 17.3% drop, mainly due to lower fuel prices and lower seat availability per kilometer.

The airline said prepayments for aircraft delivery amounted to 1.9 billion dirhams, compared with 2.1 billion during the comparative period.

Aircraft for retirement

During the first six months of this year, five aircraft were retired and returned to the leasing company, while one Boeing 737 MAX 8 has been delivered, flydubai said. One Boeing 737 Max 8 and three Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft will be retired by the end of this year.

Trips

In the first half of 2019, flights to Calicut were launched in India, Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Naples in Italy and Sochi in Russia, bringing the airline to 92 destinations in 48 countries.

The company revealed that it is currently negotiating the extension of the lease contract for two Boeing 737-800, as it was expected to leave the fleet in 2020 to the date of departure in 2022.

Flydubai said it continues to focus its efforts on reducing the impact on its passengers ahead of the holiday season.

Effect

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, said: `` In last year's financial results we indicated that we were cautiously optimistic at the beginning of 2019.We saw positive results as our destinations matured, and in a few months "The first of the year we saw strong demand across our network of destinations."

"However, our performance has been greatly affected by the suspension of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft," he said. "The half-year results of the carrier do not match previous expectations in terms of significant improvement in performance."

“On the 10th anniversary of flydubai's launch, we were expecting to grow in our fleet and continue our plans to expand our network,” said Al Ghaith. Size to what it was in 2014. ”

He said that «the company is in ongoing discussions with the company (Boeing) American to reach a solution to this unprecedented stop, and the significant impact it has on flydubai (business) and its growth strategy», he expected The performance of the tanker.

Company Opportunities

"By operating the fleet in the short term, and as a result of the suspension of MAX aircraft, we were able to reduce flight cancellations and reduce capacity by 14.9%," said flydubai Chief Financial Officer Francois Oberholzer.

"This has hindered the company's opportunities to generate revenue and has impacted profits," he said, noting that "cost-efficiency programs have remained on track."

7 destinations

As of October 27, seven destinations will fly to Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, flydubai said. .

The airline said it was continuing to expand its network eastward, becoming the first UAE carrier to offer flights to Krabi via a stopover in Yangon, Myanmar.