Kuwait Airways claims progress in its efforts to reach profitability after improved passenger revenues enabled the carrier to halve losses to KD55 million ($178 million) in 2022.
It marks an improvement on the KD105 million the carrier lost in 2021 and on its pre-pandemic losses of 2019.
Kuwait Airways chairman, Capt Ali Al-Dukhan says: “The positive figures and results confirm the progress of the national carrier at a steady pace towards development and excellence.
"This has been done by taking into account the significance of applying the latest technologies and applications to achieve strategic objectives and profitability, which has reflected in reducing the company’s losses by 50% from KD107 million at the end of 2019 to KD55 million in 2022.”
Passenger revenues climbed 11% to KD289 million for the year. That was achieved on passenger numbers up 2% to 3.5 million and load factor increasing to 69.7%. The airline added 10 new routes during 2022.
“Kuwait Airways has completed many achievements in the previous period, the most prominent of which was the agreement with Airbus to restructure the fleet and to increase the fleet from 28 to 31 aircraft, part of which the company has received, and the remaining will be received in the coming years,” adds Al-Dukhan.
The airline has been modernising its fleet with Airbus A330neos and A320neo-family jets.
Al-Dukhan adds “Kuwait Airways has extended the contract for the lease of seven A320 aircraft up to the year 2024 which increases the number of flights.”
