MEA profits up

Airliner will start flights to Basra and Yerevan soon

Middle East Airlines (MEA) announced that it will be running flights to Yerevan, Armenia, as of this August with an average two flights per week. A new route to Basra, Iraq, will also be launched by the end of the summer.

Minister of Public Works and Transportation Ghazi Aridi said that MEA had considered launching a route to Armenia for a long time: “Armenia was one of the company’s primary destinations in mind. Today we have enough planes to start flights to the country.” He said the MEA will reap additional benefits from this route following the bankruptcy of the Armenian national carrier.

MEA also announced that it would launch flights to Basra. The company already runs flights to Baghdad, Erbil, and Najaf. “We have shared economic interests with Iraq and Iraqi tourists are important today given the absence of Gulf visitors,” said Mohammad Hout, Chairman of MEA.
MEA’s consolidated profits rose to $58 million in 2012, a 45 percent year-on-year increase, but down by 50 percent compared to 2009, the company’s figures showed. Business class reservations from Gulf countries went down by 40 percent year-on-year. MEA said the drop in business flights has not been compensated by the increase in the number of Syrian passengers to Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan.