Airlines in the Middle East are earning $23.1 in profit per passenger, the highest of any region, as they benefit from strong regional economic growth, major infrastructure investment and the closure of Russian airspace to European and US carriers.
That is about triple the average net profit per passenger for global airlines of $6.4 in 2024 and $7.9 in 2023, according to the International Air Transport Association's latest annual report, issued on Tuesday.
Middle East airlines will end 2024 with an estimated $5.3 billion in net profit, up from a June forecast of $3.8 billion for this year, and an increase from $3.1 billion in net profit in 2023, according to the latest forecast by Iata.
“The Middle East achieved the strongest financial performance in 2024 as indicated by the highest per passenger net profit among the regions,” the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said in a statement. “The Middle East was the only region to experience an increase in passenger yields in 2024, supported by a strong premium long-haul business. Despite the escalation of the conflict in Gaza, the Gulf carriers have remained largely unaffected.”
Regional airlines, particularly in the Gulf, had a strong year of profitability amid continued strong demand for air travel, a push to increase international tourist arrivals, investment in airport upgrades and government policies designed to boost the aviation sector's contribution to the gross domestic product.
Looking ahead, airlines in the Middle East are forecast to earn $5.9 billion in net profit in 2025, up from $5.3 billion this year, Iata said. Profit per passenger will soar to $23.9 next year, more than triple the global average of $7 forecast in 2025.
However, yields – or the average amount paid by a passenger to fly one kilometre – “may stabilise” in 2025, Iata said. This is because of a 9.2 per cent increase in capacity, which is just below a 9.5 per cent increase in passenger demand, the airline lobby group said.
“Ambitious growth targets for 2025 could be impacted by supply chain issues with delays in aircraft deliveries and limited engine availability,” Iata said.
A global shortage of aircraft has been pushing up fares and forcing airlines to keep older jets flying longer. Some carriers, such as Emirates, have invested billions of dollars to retrofit their older jets as they await delayed deliveries of new aircraft.
Airlines around the world have struggled to increase capacity in response to rising travel demand as supplies of jetliners are limited by parts shortages, industry-wide hiring problems and overloaded repair shops.
Global outlook
Global airlines will end the year with a net profit of $31.5 billion, which is forecast to improve next year to $36.6 billion, on lower fuel costs, fuller planes and as the number of passengers exceeds the five billion mark for the first time in 2025, according to Iata.
“This will be hard-earned as airlines take advantage of lower oil prices while keeping load factors above 83 per cent, tightly controlling costs, investing in decarbonisation, and managing the return to more normal growth levels following the extraordinary pandemic recovery,” Willie Walsh, Iata's director general, said.
“All these efforts will help to mitigate several drags on profitability which are outside of airlines’ control, namely persistent supply chain challenges, infrastructure deficiencies, onerous regulation, and a rising tax burden.”
Total industry revenues are expected to grow to $1.007 trillion in 2025, an increase of 4.4 per cent from 2024 and will be the first time that industry revenues top the $1 trillion mark. However, expenses are expected to grow 4 per cent to $940 billion.
Becoming a trillion-dollar industry means aviation accounts for almost 1 per cent of the global economy, but airlines still have thin margins and carry a cost burden of $940 billion, on top of interest and taxes, Iata said.
“The buffer between profit and loss, even in the good year that we are expecting of 2025, is just $7 per passenger,” Mr Walsh said.
“With margins that thin, airlines must continue to watch every cost and insist on similar efficiency across the supply chain – especially from our monopoly infrastructure suppliers who all too often let us down on performance and efficiency.”
Trump effect
Risks to the improved profit outlook include the prospect of the worsening wars in the Middle East and Ukraine as well as the policies of president-elect Donald Trump that bring with them “significant uncertainties”, Iata said.
“Tariffs and trade wars would likely dampen demand for air cargo and potentially also impact business travel. Should these policies rekindle inflation with higher interest rates as a policy response, negative impacts on demand would be exacerbated,” the airlines body said.
However, if the business-friendly stance of the first Trump administration continues into this term, “gains from deregulation and business simplification could be significant”.
With airlines seeking to meet their net-zero goals by 2050, there is “uncertainty regarding government support for aviation’s decarbonisation efforts in the US until the path that the new administration will take becomes clearer”, Iata said.
'C'mon C'mon'
Director:Mike Mills
Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman
Rating: 4/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The five pillars of Islam
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3
Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')
Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
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Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
