KUWAIT AIRWAYS' DOUBLE DELIVERY - Aviation for Aviators

KUWAIT AIRWAYS’ DOUBLE DELIVERY

/ 3 years
30/10/2020
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Yesterday (29/10/20) Kuwait’s flag carrier; Kuwait Airways took delivery of both its first and second A330-800 NEO as part of their order for eight of the aircraft.with the pandemic still ongoing ad airlines still trying to cut costs we will be looking at the advantages of taking the new fuel efficient aircraft and where the Kuwaiti carrier will be flying them.

DOUBLE DELIVERY

Kuwait Airways took delivery of two Airbus A330-800 NEO’s yesterday, (9K-APF & 9K-APG) with the aircraft departing Toulouse at 11:15 and 11:17 respectively.

With border restrictions expected to be tightened due to the fears of a second wave in Europe, the delivery of new aircraft, on the surface, does not make sense, however as we look deeper into the economics of Kuwait’s existing long haul fleet, the new delivery does become more logical. At present, the airline’s long haul fleet consists of 5 Airbus A330-200’s and 10 Boeing 777-300ER’s, with the Boeing 777-300ER’s becoming increasingly difficult to fill and the current A330-200’s proving inefficient and costly, the new A330-800 NEO offers the ideal capacity for the current climate along with a fuel and cost efficiency for the Kuwaiti-based carrier.

WHERE WILL THE NEW AIRCRAFT FLY?

While the aircraft haven’t been assigned to any routes as of yet, there are a few potential candidate destinations for the aircraft when looking at the airline’s November Schedule. The most likely destinations for the new aircraft would be Guangzhou (due to the aircraft’s long range) and London Heathrow (as due to the aircraft’s lower seating capacity compared to the 777 it will be easier to fill and the aircraft is more fuel efficient than the current long haul aircraft in Kuwait’s fleet).

While the pandemic continues to devastate the aviation industry,Kuwait Airways’ delivery of new aircraft offers some hope as it does suggest that the airline looks optimistically to the future.What do you think of this new delivery?Where do you think the new aircraft will fly? and are you looking forward to seeing or flying the new A330NEO’s?