Kuwait launches its first budget airline

City Kuwait's first private budget airline, Jazeera Airways, will begin operations in February with two leased Airbus 320-200 aircraft.

"This low-cost airline will begin operations with an initial tentative schedule of 30 flights a week. Tickets will sell at about 50 per cent below published fares," said Captain Adel Al Barges, the airline's vice-president of operations. The announcement came yesterday after the certificate of operation was officially handed over by Yacoub Al Sager, the president of Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Marwan Al Boodai, the CEO and chairman of Jazeera Airways, said the company is the first step toward boosting the economy through privatisation.

"Kuwait needs a private airline. The plan is to procure up to eight aircraft within the next five years," Al Boodai said.

"The company's initial share offering was oversubscribed 12-fold. It has 6,000 shareholdersf and a paid-up capital of $35 million. We will invest more as it grows," he said.

Abdullah Al Hudaid, vice-president of engineering, said Jazeera Airways has about 80 local and international staff, including 18 pilots and 36 cabin crew. Most of its operations will be outsourced to keep it running as a low-cost, high-quality carrier.

"The inaugural flight will most probably be to Dubai, but the date and destination have not yet been fixed. The airline will be run along the same concept as Sharjah's Al Arabiya, with service on-board provided only on request.

"The initial flights will be scheduled mostly to the GCC states, and then move on to the greater Middle East and the Indian subcontinent," Al Hudaid said.