Aircraft is second of 10 ordered; all to be received by Q3 2017

Second Boeing 777-300ER

KUWAIT: Kuwait Airways, the official national carrier of the State of Kuwait, has an extra reason to celebrate the New Year, in 2017, with the second of 10 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft ordered arriving in Kuwait on 1st January. With the first aircraft welcomed less than a month ago, December 2016, Kuwait Airways remains on schedule to have all 10 aircraft received and in commercial service by the end of Q3 2017.

The new arrival will be the second aircraft to bear the dynamic new livery of Kuwait Airways - as revealed in October last year - and as is the tradition with the airline, the aircraft has been named. Following the island theme of the first aircraft's naming, the second B777-300ER will be called 'Um Almaradim' - after the Kuwaiti island situated near its maritime border with Saudi Arabia.

Historically, Um Almaradim was a busy hub for maritime trade and for pearl diving - the deep waters surrounding the island allowing for large ships to land close to its shores. Um Al-Maradim Island was also the first Kuwaiti territory to be liberated after the 1991 invasion.

Kuwait Airways' new B777-300ER fleet will initially be deployed on high traffic routes on its network, including: London, New York, Paris and Bangkok. As the remaining B777-300ER aircraft join the fleet, it is expected that other long-haul routes on the airline's network will also be served by the new aircraft.

Step forward

Commenting ahead of the arrival of the second Boeing 777-300ER, Rasha A- Roumi, Chairperson and CEO of Kuwait Airways, said: "The delivery of the second Boeing 777-300ER is another significant step forward for Kuwait Airways and yet another milestone achieved on our five-year transformation plan."

"The second aircraft's arrival is further proof of the support that all stakeholders share in realizing the vision of having a prominent, official national carrier that is both the pride of a nation and a strong ambassador for Kuwait, within the global and aviation community," Roumi added.

According to airline sources, the arrival of the remaining eight Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, to be delivered before the end of September 2017, is part of a larger "fleet acquisition plan" that will see the addition of 10 A350 and 15 A320neo aircraft arrive, between 2019 and 2021.  At the conclusion of the airline's transformation plan (2021), Kuwait Airways has claimed it will have the youngest commercial airline fleet in the world.

One of the airline's immediate-term priorities has been to increase market share by enhancing its services on existing routes and this will certainly be supported through the deployment of the new aircraft and their onboard features. Going forward, the arrival of the Boeing 777-300ER (the "ER" standing for "extended range"), will also allow Kuwait Airways to look at adding more non-stop, long-haul routes to its network.