BELGRADE (Serbia), August 5 (SeeNews) – Flag carrier Air Serbia recorded a net profit of 12.2 million euro ($13.6 million) in 2018, down from 15.7 million euro in the previous year, it said on Monday.
Air Serbia booked revenue of 6.9 million euro from the sale of ancillary services in 2018, nearly five times higher compared with 2017, while revenue from charter operations rose by more than 40%, to 20.7 million euro, the company said in a statement.
The total number of passengers carried in 2018 fell to 2.48 million, from 2.62 million in the previous year, while the airline’s passenger carrying capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs), declined to 4.03 billion from 4.24 billion. Average passenger load factor was 71.2% in 2018, Air Serbia said.
"Last year was important because the airline set the foundations for expanding its network. This also served as a basis for our long term strategy, which has already been implemented and will reinforce our role as regional leader. Regardless of the numerous and demanding challenges in the airline industry, Air Serbia is developing its product portfolio to ensure even better financial and operative results but also to offer our passengers an excellent product for an economical price," Duncan Naysmith, CEO of Air Serbia, said in the statement.
The charter brand, Aviolet, performed a record 958 flights in 2018, carrying 223,000 passengers to popular holiday destinations in Greece, Turkey, Spain, Italy, and Egypt, an increase of 28% compared to the previous year. Other novelties last year included the re-introduction of flights to Hurghada in Egypt, increase of flights to the Turkish coast, and the introduction of a series of Aviolet flights to Antalya operated from Bosnia's Banja Luka.
($ = 0.894737 euro)