KUWAIT: Kuwait Airways held a ceremony on Tuesday to mark the occasion of the inaugural flights from Kuwait to Bangalore and Ahmadabad, India at Kuwait International Airport. The airline began its service to those destinations last September 1. It will be operated by Kuwait Airways KU-353 and Airbus A320 with three flights a week. "We opened new flights this year in Vienna, Istanbul, Munich and now we are opening flights to Bangalore and Ahmadabad in the Indian subcontinent," Engineer Abdullah Al-Sharhan, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Airways, said in a speech. He added that the flights will be permanent and not seasonal. Meanwhile, Engineer Sharhan noted that Kuwait Airways already has 39 stations and that they have added two new ones, totaling 41 stations till the end of 2015.
Planes
Sharhan said however that the national carrier is not expected to add new planes to its fleet after deals signed with Airbus and Boeing earlier this year. "I do not think that Kuwait Airways is going to add more planes. Kuwait Airways purchased 25 new aircrafts, including Airbus A320-neos and A350s; and 10 wide body 777-300ER passenger aircrafts, from manufacturer Boeing to upgrade its fleet.
The 777-300ER is an 'extended range' version of the 777 with seating capacity for up to 386 passengers and a range of 7,825 nautical miles (14,490 km). And now we only have 12 rented planes, and for now, I think these planes are enough to keep Kuwait Airways going," he said. He added that Kuwait Airways is still waiting for the operational plan that will be signed into a contract soon. "The company's strategy and the implementation of a longterm operational plan is developing and restructuring. That plan will reveal the new results, and we will see if we need to create an alliance with other countries for new destinations," he explained. At the end of the ceremony, Kuwait Airways staff handed out roses to passengers of Kuwait- Bangalore flight.
© Kuwait Times 2015
