Kuwait Airways Corporation receives quotations to purchase new aircraft
The Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) has started receiving quotations for the purchase of different types of aircraft as part of the plan to develop its fleet, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources.
Sources said three important decrees related to the corporation are expected to be issued immediately after the dissolution of the 2009 Parliament.
Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: "Kuwait Airways has lagged behind its Arab neighbours in development and having squandered early slots for 787s, the airline now faces the stark prospect of not only having to wait just as long for new airplanes given the burgeoning Airbus and Boeing backlogs, it will have to pay a premium as well.
The issue gets slightly more murky with the advent of a joint Iraqi-Kuwaiti airline, so competition will be heating up regionally for Kuwait Airways. Much of its Airbus and Boeing fleet needs replacing and its possible leasing new jets becomes one solution to their problem, although again, this is capital expenditure it could put to better use by outright owning its fleet"
Ahmad concludes: Kuwait Airways has been woefully slow to change, mired by political wrangling and its tunnel-vision focus on compensation from Iraq - if the airline wants to turn a corner, they had better place orders fast or run the risk of flying with these same airplanes in their inventory at the turn of the decade. And with fuel price volatility still a clear and present danger, slow reform won't cut it."
Copyright (C): ArabianSupplyChain
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