(MENAFN- Arab Times) KUWAIT CITY March 8: As Kuwait Airways undergoes a major restructuring exercise that will see it increase frequencies and expand services to new destinations top executives see Oman as an important destination report by Times of Oman. The number of flights from Kuwait to Muscat will be raised to four weekly. These will give convenient connections beyond Kuwait to the Indian sub-continent and Far East. The airline which currently operates two flights a week between Kuwait and Oman on Tuesdays and Fridays will from Aug 29 introduce two more flights on Friday and Monday. These two flights will be fly non-stop from Kuwait to Muscat and back.
The Kuwaiti national carrier a corporation now which is in the process of turning itself into a company already has as many as 37 Airbus and 10 Boeing aircraft on order for lease or purchase during the current year and beyond with the first few leased aircraft already having been delivered. Abdullah Alsarhan the airline's chief executive officer says 'in the next three years you will see the emergence of a new Kuwait Airways. As we get more aircraft we will increase our frequencies to existing destinations and then expand to newer destinations as well.' Though he declined to go into details of the rebranding at this point of time he said that for the passengers it would mean improved facilities including new lounges one of which has already been opened at the carrier's Kuwait hub. Echoing the CEO's comment Kuwait Airways Chief Commercial Officer Philip Saunders said that the airline is working hard to establish itself as a leader a position he believes rightfully belongs to the airlines which has more than 60 years of operational experience and a great past reputation to look back upon. 'Kuwait Airways is one of the original carriers an emblem of the region' he said. On the airlines' plan for Oman he said that the Sultanate offers tourists more than anyone else and in keeping with the airline's avowed intention of becoming the number one carrier from Kuwait to all major Gulf Cooperation Council destinations it plans to increase its market share of the Kuwait-Oman traffic. 'Muscat is one of the places where we want to increase the number of flights' he said. As part of its agreement with Airbus to lease 12 aircraft including five are Airbus A330 and seven A320 followed by a purchase of another 25 aircraft Kuwait Airways has received two Airbus A320ceo Aircraft in December 2014 and another two last month. The delivery of the remaining leased aircraft will be made during 2015. The carrier has also ordered a fleet of 10 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from Boeing. According to Kuwait airways website ' ... 2016 would witness the continuation of the phase in terms of bringing in the new Boeing aircraft B777-300 ER to the company's fleet.' Asked about the company's business Saunders conceded that the airlines has returned losses in recent times adding 'We are working on a complete turnaround with the objective of becoming profitable.' Fleet modernisation will not only help improve passenger experience but coupled with staff reduction through 'voluntary redundancy' it will also help bring down the company's expenses he said. The airline is also working on attracting more passengers through competitive pricing encouraging earlier booking of tickets and providing extra services. In the last category the airline intends to become the leader over time he said. He said that the big investments being deployed in a responsible manner over the next three to five years will gradually help the airline return to sustainable profits. He also said that the company would leverage its other strengths to turn in profits. As an example he cited the airlines' engineering centre located in Dubai which provides its services to more than 100 airlines. 'It is a jewel of the Middle East very few know about' he said. For now Kuwait Airways has no intention of following some of the regional airlines into the big league he said adding that the plan is to focus on the smaller picture. 'Rather than growing a huge network I think we are going to concentrate on making sure that our flows work better and that our product is extremely reliable in terms of on-time performance' Saunders revealed. He also said that the airline will remain true to its roots while making efforts to increase its market share. On the impact of increased competition in the aviation and tourism industry in the Middle East he said that there is a distinct shift in the aviation industry towards the Middle East. The global aviation industry should accept this fact because this development is powered by the strategic location of the Middle East between the population centres of the west and east. He further said that while growth is good for the Middle East aviation industry in general each airline must work out its own business model for sustainable long-term viability. Times of Oman
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