RJ sees 128% increase in passengers as of September

AMMAN — The Royal Jordanian (RJ) Board of Directors approved financial results for the third quarter and the first nine months of this year during a meeting held on October 27. 

The meeting was chaired by RJ’s Chairman Said Darwazeh, with the attendance of Vice Chairman/CEO Samer Majali.

The company’s financial results show that it registered a JD452 million operating revenue in the first nine months of this year, 87 per cent higher than the JD242 million accrued in the same period of 2021. 

Operating costs, however, 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 statement from RJ.

RJ reported a JD71 million net loss between January and September 2022, compared with a JD54 million net loss in the same period of 2021. 

The loss grew by JD17 million due to steep increases in fuel prices during the first nine months of this year. RJ paid a difference of JD81 million in fuel prices for the aforementioned period as the average fuel prices for the company increased by 82 per cent compared with the same period last year. 

Majali said that fuel prices have risen dramatically since the beginning of this year, posing one more challenge to the airline. Fuel costs make up almost 40 per cent of the total operating costs incurred by Royal Jordanian, he said, adding that this is reflected in the company’s financial results, as the net loss deepened despite the significant improvement of all operational indicators. 

The number of passengers increased by 128 per cent in the mentioned period of 2022 compared with last year. 

RJ transported 2.3 million passengers during this period while it transported 992,000 passengers between January and September 2021. 

Cargo revenue grew by 21 per cent in the first nine months of this year compared with 2021 figures, as uplifted cargo increased by 29 per cent.