Kuwait Airways is planning to lease eight Airbus narrowbody aircraft in the next decade amidst delivery delays from Airbus denting the airline’s expansion plans. At a recent press conference, chairman, Kuwait Airways, Ali Aldokhan confirmed that the airline will lease 8 Airbus A321neo aircraft over the next decade.
“The airline is expanding its network rapidly and simply doesn’t have the capacity at the moment. The new leased aircraft will be a huge sigh of relief, preventing delays to its plans while it figures out a new schedule with Airbus,” Aldokhan said.
Kuwait Airways currently has a total of 35 active aircraft. In 2022, the airline finalized an order for 31 Airbus jets worth over $3 billion and set to be delivered by 2028. Although a total of 18 aircraft have been delivered, the rest of the order is facing delays from Airbus. The delay is expected to be 12 months. The outstanding order with Airbus consists of 1 A320neo, 6 A321neos, 3 A321XLRs, 7 A330neos and 2 A350-900s.
According to Reuters, the airline is currently examining different options and offers from various aircraft leasing firms and is in the process of choosing a provider.
While speaking to Reuters, Maen Razouqi, chief executive, Kuwait Airways said: “We don't get into disagreements. The reality is that there are financial obligations that must be borne by the party responsible for the delay. This is part of our restructuring discussions- that the financial obligations should be based on payments or credits... offset for the delay.”
“Kuwait Airways is currently in negotiations with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation on a proposed cost reduction discount on jet fuel,” Rezouqi added.
Going ahead, the airline plans to acquire 50 aircraft by 2030. The airline faced a loss of $178 million in 2022 but is planning to return to profit by 2025.