MARIA WAGLAND / LONDON
Airbus and Boeing vie for major order expected early next year to replace existing A300, A310 and A320 aircraft
Kuwait Airways expects to finalise a major fleet-renewal deal early next year that has pitched Airbus against Boeing for the replacement of almost its entire fleet. Included in the evaluation is Boeing's planned all-new widebody, the 7E7.
The carrier tells Flight International's sister online service Air Transport Intelligence that it is evaluating narrowbody and widebody types to replace its fleet of three Airbus A320s, five A300-600Rs, three A310-300s and five A300-600Rs. The deal could be expanded to include the replacement of its six larger, longer-range widebodies - four A340-300s and two Boeing 777-200ERs.
The A320 family is competing with the 737 for the narrowbody replacement, while the A330 is fighting the 7E7 in the 230- to 250-seat campaign. "A decision will be made in early 2004. This is mainly due to the 7E7 development," says Shatha Al Qureshi, secretary to the committee handling the fleet-renewal programme at the airline.
With the 7E7 still at the study stage, Boeing is expected to decide on the launch of the aircraft next year and is discussing the project with potential launch customers.
Al Qureshi says the narrowbody and smaller widebody replacement projects will influence any renewal of its larger widebodies. The airline is considering having one type for its larger widebody fleet, with the A340-300 Enhanced, the A340-500 and the 777-200LR in contention.
"The replacement of one type [in the existing fleet] with the other is for the purpose of standardising operations," says Al Qureshi. She adds that the replacement of the larger aircraft depends on "issues of operational economics and commonality with the future fleet".
While Al Qureshi does not specify the size of the order, she says it will be necessary to expand the passenger fleet from 17 aircraft to 25 to meet growth targets as the airline hopes to launch new destinations.
Meanwhile, Kuwait Airways plans to split its cargo and regional services into standalone airlines. Private investors will own the companies with Kuwait maintaining a 24% shareholding in each. Two of its A300/A310s may be converted into freighters for its cargo division.
Source: Flight International
