Jazeera Airways, a Kuwaiti airline, has placed an order for 28 Airbus A320neo family aircraft, including 20 A320neos and eight A321neo jets.
“The A320neo Family offers the right size, economics and customer comfort for Jazeera Airways to serve its growing customer base and open new routes competitively,” Christian Scherer, Airbus chief commercial officer and head of Airbus International announced in a press statement.
Jazeera currently operates a fleet of 17 Airbus A320 family planes, including nine A320neos and eight A320-200s.
The new Airbus order will essentially increase Jazeera’s existing fleet size to 35 aircraft, supporting the company’s expansion aspirations, according to the company.
The Airbus A320neo is a single-aisle jet that is appropriate for short and medium-haul flights.
The aircraft has two engine options: the PurePower PW1100G-JM geared turbofan from Pratt & Whitney and the LEAP-1A from CFM International. It has a maximum range of 6,400 nautical miles (11,853 kilometers) and can carry up to 180 people.
Meanwhile, the Airbus A321neo jet is the A320neo family’s longest fuselage aircraft.
It has a maximum range of 4,000 nautical miles and can carry up to 220 passengers in a conventional two-seat arrangement (7,400 kilometers).
The order comes as Jazeera reported a return to profitability in 2021 and expressed optimism for a good 2022.
The airline made a net profit of KD7.1 million ($23.4 million) in 2021, thanks to less restrictions on travel, cost control, and an emphasis on “COVID-safe” locations and connecting flights. The company’s revenue increased by 94 percent to KD80.4 million ($265.3 million).
“The challenges that the pandemic brought about in the travel industry in 2020 also opened new opportunities for our airline: cargo operations, charter flights and connecting routes were expanded to benefit our business,” Jazeera Airways’ chief executive officer, Rohit Ramachandran said in a statement on February 14, 2022.
“We are confident that restrictions on the travel sector will only continue to ease, and traffic will return to pre-Covid-19 levels,” Jazeera chairman, Marwan Boodai said of the outlook for 2022. “As for Jazeera, we are looking forward to moving forward with our expansion plans, growing our network and fleet as well as our business capabilities.”
