Emirates Airline has defended its decision not to award staff their annual bonus for the second consecutive year, claiming the 52 percent increase in profits was insufficient.
The Dubai-based carrier - one of the largest in the world by passenger numbers - made $622 million profit during 2011-12, which was one of the best results of any comparable international airline.
At the same time, Emirates Group - of which the airline is a subsidiary - posted a 34 percent increase in profits to $845 million.
However, the airline said its profit target was not achieved. While the increase was significant, the profit was still lower than 2009-10 when the airline reached $703 million.
Announcing the 2010-11 results last year, it blamed sky-rocketing fuel bill (up 44.4 percent to $6.6bn) for the 72.1 percent slump in profit to $409m. The below-bar result in 2011-12 means bonuses will not be paid to about 60,000 Emirates' staff, who are generally paid a low base wage that is topped up with benefits such as a flying allowance for cabin crew, freeor subsidised housing and significant ticket discounts.
"The Emirates Group provides staff with a bonus based on the group's financial performance. A profit target is set each year and needs to be met before bonuses are paid," an Emirates spokesperson said in a statement provided to Arabian Business. "Although the Emirates Group posted a AED3.1 billion net profit for the 2011/12 financial year, unfortunately, in the face of very challenging economic conditions, our profit target was not reached.
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