Largest loss ever puts damper on Royal Jordanian’s continued traffic growth

2011 was not an easy year for Royal Jordanian. After its net profit dropped by two thirds in 2010, the airline had been anticipating a year of modest profit in 2011. However, the regional unrest across the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the European economic downturn and the increasing price of fuel, struck the carrier a hard blow in the year.

Over the year, the carrier suffered four consecutive quarterly losses. It reported a full year loss of JOD57.8 million (USD81.4 million). This is its heaviest ever annual loss, more than wiping out the profits Royal Jordanian managed to make in 2009 and 2010.

The airline temporarily halted services to Libya, Iraq, Iran and Egypt during the early months of 2011, although the unrest cut revenues by just 2% according to CEO Hussein Dabbas. European traffic was affected given the continent's general economic weakness.