A new Kuwaiti airline
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Kuwait National Airways is planning to launch operations in January, becoming the third carrier in the Gulf state, Gulf News reported.
The carrier would operate under the brand name Wataniya Airways – ‘wataniya’ is Arabic for ‘national’ – and start with two Airbus A320 aircraft flying to destinations in the Gulf and wider Middle East, Chief Executive George Cooper was quoted saying.
“We are now in talks with firms to lease six more aircraft with delivery starting in 2010,” Cooper was quoted saying, adding the firm could later buy planes.
According to the report, Wataniya has planned initially to fly to the Saudi cities of Riyadh and Jeddah; Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai, Cairo, Damascus, Beirut and Jordan’s Amman. Later, it intends to fly to London, Frankfurt, Paris, Manila and Bangkok, according to Reuters. German airline Lufthansa has helped advise Wataniya on its strategy, the report said.
The airline would be the third in Kuwait after loss-making state carrier Kuwait Airways – which the government wants to sell – and low-cost Jazeera Airways.
According to Cooper, Wataniya intends to focus on the business segment, allocating more seats on its aircraft than rivals, with 122 seats - more than half – on its A320s.
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