Kuwait Airways in Compensation Talks with Airbus Over Aircraft Delivery Delays

Kuwait Airways is in discussions with aircraft manufacturer Airbus regarding compensation for delays in the delivery of commercial jets, as revealed by the airline’s chairman in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.

Aerospace manufacturers, including Airbus, are grappling with supply chain bottlenecks, and this year has seen mounting pressure on these companies to address delivery delays with penalties.

Abdulmohsen Salem Alfagaan, the chairman of Kuwait Airways, stated, “We are in discussions with Airbus, and there will be compensation from Airbus themselves because we have been significantly affected.” However, he did not specify the extent of the delays or the types of aircraft affected.

An Airbus spokesperson responded by stating that discussions with customers are confidential.

Kuwait Airways, a state-owned airline, currently has outstanding orders for seven Airbus A330-900 and two A350-900 wide-body jets, along with nine A321neo and one A320neo narrow-body aircraft, according to Airbus data.

Alfagaan mentioned that Kuwait Airways’ current business plan aims for profitability in this decade and indicated that the airline is unlikely to place new aircraft orders for the next three to four years.

Furthermore, due to a decline in demand for certain destinations in the Middle East and Turkey caused by the Israel-Hamas conflict, the airline is reducing flight frequencies on specific routes, with some routes experiencing up to a 50% drop in demand.

Alfagaan noted that travelers have been canceling bookings to the region due to concerns about the conflict potentially escalating into a broader regional conflict. Despite this, the airline is performing well on routes to the East and within Europe, with European routes near full capacity, and the airline overall filling an average of 70-80% of seats.

He also mentioned that about 60% of the airline’s passengers either originate or terminate their journeys in Kuwait, while the remaining 40% use Kuwait as a connecting hub.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, reuters.com