So, some sort of revamp is going into the depressing airline that is Kuwait Airways. Here’s some news on some sort of expansion, but before can we talk about the service, destinations and outdated livery? Thanks.
Kuwait Airways Corp. has agreed to buy 10 Boeing Co. jets worth $3.3 billion at list prices as the Gulf carrier plans to use a revamped fleet to claw back ground it had lost to local competitors.
The government-owned airline said Thursday it would buy 10 Boeing 777-300ER widebody jets, following a deal earlier this year to purchase 25 Airbus Group NV aircraft, according to a statement on Kuwait’s official news agency.
Delivery of the Boeing aircraft will begin in November 2016, and the jets will be deployed on the carrier’s current and future routes, the statement added.
The Boeing 777-300ER, or Extended Range, has become the mainstay jet in the fleet of Gulf peer Emirates Airline, the world’s largest carrier by international traffic flown.
The airline has more than 100 planes in operation and has used the jet, which can travel up to 7,930 nautical miles, to connect passengers from Asia to Europe and the U.S. via its Dubai hub.
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways and Doha-based Qatar Airways have also bought the 777 jet in significant numbers and have followed a similar strategy to the older airline Emirates.
Kuwait Air was established in 1953, before both of its competitors, and currently has 15 Airbus jets in operation. It flew 2.4 million passengers last year, nearly 10 million short of Etihad, which was launched 10 years ago.
Rasha Al Roumi, Kuwait Air’s chairwoman, said in April that airline would aim to win back customers in Kuwait first before challenging the dominance of the big three Gulf airlines.
“We have to rebuild customers’ confidence,” Ms. Roumi said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “And at the same time, get back market share.”
Kuwait Air signed a deal in February for 10 A350-900 long-haul jets and 15 A320neo—the new and more fuel-efficient version of the A320 family.
That deal was worth $4.38 billion at list prices, although customers often get large discounts off the list price. It also agreed to lease 12 other Airbus jets, which would be delivered before the summer of 2015.”
Excerpt taken from The Wall Street Journal.
