Kuwait, November 26, 2012 – Jazeera Airways CEO Stefan Pichler was awarded the Personal Achievement of the Year Award by the industry-leading magazine Aviation Business during the sixth annual Aviation Business Awards ceremony held in at Westin Hotel in Dubai.
The awards that included 12 categories in total were decided on by five judges on the basis of a blind voting system.
Jazeera Airways CEO Stefan Pichler said, “From our start in 2006, we were the fastest growing low cost airline in the Middle East, and that until 2008, when a critical market size was reached. At that point, we rolled out a Turn-Around Plan (TAP) with the objective of prioritizing the generation of year-round profitability over growth. TAP, which was developed and implemented by management team, was launched in the second quarter of 2010 and as a result, the Group sustained profitability in all nine quarters to date, with record-breaking earnings in eight of the nine quarters. Today, we are back to being the only profitable airline in Kuwait, and one of the very few profitable airlines in the Middle East.”
“TAP worked to ensure that we have a profitable business every quarter. I would like to thank our team for their hard work and dedication, for without them the successful turn-around to profitability wouldn’t have been possible,” said Pichler.
TAP was implemented in May 2010, and included asset redeployment, staff reductions, rigorous cost management, network and market alignment, and a boost in commercial offering.
The Plan began yielding results immediately and above expectations. Just three months into the plan, Jazeera Airways Group closed its best performing quarter in history at the time by reporting a net profit of KD4.4 million for the third quarter of 2010. The Group has been profitable ever since and closed 2011 with a net profit of KD10.6 million. In 2012, the Group has earned a net profit of KD11.4 million in the first nine months of the year, which is an increase of 23.6% over 2011’s record nine-month net profit of KD9.2 million.
Jazeera Airways Group is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange.