Air Arabia, the Middle East’s largest and most successful low-cost carrier, has reported another solid quarter of profitability, in the face of higher fuel costs and the continued ripples from the Arab Spring. With operations spread across Sharjah, Alexandria and Casablanca, the airline’s operations have proved somewhat vulnerable to the regional political and social unrest, but over the past few years Air Arabia has built an operation with sufficient mass and flexibility to ride out the worst of the regional troubles. 

The airline’s gross operating profit for the three months to 30-Sep-2011 was AED150 million (USD40.9 million), up a third on the same period in 2010. However, the carrier’s net profit for the three months was AED99.3 million (USD27.3 million), a drop of 26.4% compared to 3Q2010.