Royal Jordanian reports traffic and revenue down in 2013, outlines restructuring

Royal Jordanian chairman, president and CEO Nasser Lozi said (21-Sep-2014) the airline contributed JOD378.5 million (USD533.8 million) to Jordan's GDP in 2013. The airline's passenger traffic declined 3% and revenues decreased 7.2% year-on-year to JOD744 million (USD1.05 billion) in 2013. Operational expenses decreased 1.2% to JOD713 million (USD1.01 billion) with fuel comprising 30% of total operational costs. The carrier's performance continues to be affected by security issues in the region, resulting in the suspension or reduction of operations in Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Syria. The airline also suspended Accra, Colombo, Delhi, Lagos, Milan and Mumbai services and transferred Sharm el-Sheikh operations to Royal Wings. The airline reported "intense" regional competition, which helped drive down ticket prices. The carrier commenced a restructuring plan to improve its financial results and achieve profitability. The airline aims to generate ancillary revenue and invest in different areas of the industry in new markets and regional airports, including maintenance, ground handling and airport services. The carrier received its first Boeing 787 in Aug-2014 and expects the aircraft to reduce fuel and maintenance costs. The airline will receive four more 787s by the end of 2014. Additional 787s will replace the airline's A330s and A340s on medium and long-haul routes. The carrier also phased out a number of aircraft during 2014 due to the reduction of its network. [more - original PR]