We have just entered the new financial year- April 2010 to March 2011. Kuwait Airways is still a government entity with limited fleet of aircrafts. The current operational plan for 2010/2011 is to continue with the same network as of the previous year. This means that there will be no horizontal expansion of new routes. However, we have re-structured KAC’s current network by ceasing operations to destinations that were unproductive, reducing the number of frequencies to other routes and deploying the saving block hours to more profitable ones in order to strengthen the financial aspects from KAC’s operations.

Currently, Kuwait Airways is going through a process of privatization and under these circumstances we are not giving any thoughts to mergers and acquisitions. Once the privatization process is completed the new board will decide which direction Kuwait Airways will take in this regard. In the meantime however, we will be continuing to expand our relationship with other airlines through code sharing and commercial alliances.

Unfortunately, the airline industry is always targeted by governments and environmental agencies to pay taxes and reduce CO2 emissions while aircraft and engine manufacturers are not. The Airline industry as a whole prefers to use fuels that are cheaper and more environment friendly both of which are not readily available today.

It is the job of manufacturers and scientists to find and develop more efficient and cheaper alternative fuels not the airlines.
 

The IATA parameters have shown positive indications for February 2010. International air traffic schedules were up by +9.5% while cargo demand grew by +26.5%. It is worth mentioning that the global financial crisis was met effectively and the global economy is now recovering and is expected to register growth in all sectors including the aviation sector.

With regard to the First quarter of April-June 2010, Kuwait Airways is optimistic although we faced difficulties due to the volcanic eruptions in Iceland and the grounding of two of our aircraft in Frankfurt and Paris. Additionally, we had to suspend operations of our scheduled flights to London and other European destinations. The impact of this disruption caused us a loss of KD 1 Million. However, Kuwait Airways is optimistic and hopes to register a growth in May and June 2010.
 

Exclusive Interview with

Mr. Hamad A. Latif Al-Falah - Kuwait Airways Chairman & Managing Director - by www.BookMyHotel.biz

"Unfortunately, the airline industry is always targeted by governments and environmental agencies to pay taxes and reduce CO2 emissions while aircraft and engine manufacturers are not."