Royal Jordanian (RJ) registered a JD452 million ($637.5 million) operating revenue in the first nine months of this year, 87 percent higher than the JD242 million in the comparison period of 2021.
The operating cost also went up, from JD251 million in the first nine months of 2021 to JD468 million in the same period this year, according to a press release on Monday.
RJ posted a JD71 million net loss between January and September 2022, compared to a JD54 million net loss in the same period of 2021. The loss increased by JD17 million due to the steep increase in fuel prices during the first nine months of this year; RJ had to pay the fuel prices difference of JD81 million for the mentioned period because the average price given to the company increased by 82% compared to the same period last year.
Samer Majali, RJ’s Vice Chairman and CEO, said that fuel prices have dramatically risen since the beginning of this year, posing one more challenge to the airline. The fuel cost makes up almost 40 percent of the total operating cost incurred by Royal Jordanian, he said, adding that this is reflected in the company’s financial results, lowering it down despite the significant improvement of all operational indicators.
The number of passengers in the mentioned period of 2022 increased by 128% over last year. RJ transported 2.3 million passengers during this comparison time while it transported 992k passengers between January and September 2021. This led to a 16% increase in the seat factor, which recorded 76%.
Cargo revenues grew in the first nine months of this year by 21% over the comparison period of last year, as the uplifted cargo increased by 29%.
Source: Jordan News Agency