Budget airline Flynas may hike ticket prices as Brent tops $70-mark

Saudi Arabia's low-cost carrier Flynas is likely to hike its ticket fees, following the recent rise in oil prices, its chief executive officer Bander Almohanna told Argaam in an exclusive interview.

Almohanna said the airline cannot absorb the oil price cost, adding: "if the oil price goes up or down, you need more time to be able to pass it or not.”

“Oil price represents about 30 to 35 percent of our operational cost. Any change in the oil price will immediately hit our P&L (profit & loss),” he said at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on Tuesday.

The carrier based its 2019 budget and expectations for oil at $65 a barrel.

“However, the recent jump in the oil prices will likely trigger an increase in the ticket price,” Almohanna added.

Brent crude oil was last trading at $72.19 a barrel on Tuesday morning, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) edged up slightly to $63.64 per barrel.

Write to Parag Deulgaonkar at parag.d@argaamplus.com