Sunday, April 10, 2011

Jazeera Airways cuts A320 order

(Photo Airbus)

Kuwait's Jazeera Airways dealt a blow to Airbus last week, canceling 25 of the 40 A320s it ordered in 2007. Chairman Marwan Boodai said in a statement that the decision was driven by "the overcapacity we've seen in the market in 2009 and 2010, when we saw close to half the seats offered by our peers on the routes we operated were being flown empty." He added that the carrier "might revisit this decision in the future as Airbus introduces new A320 models to the market," likely a reference to the re-engined A320neo.

Jazeera took delivery of a new A320 in January 2010, bringing its fleet to 11 of the type, six of which it operates. It leases five A320s through its Sahaab Aircraft Leasing subsidiary, including four placed with Virgin America. Jazeera will take delivery of four A320s still on order from 2012-2014.

The airline said it earned a KWD6.4 million ($23.1 million) net profit in the second half of 2010.

(Kurt Hofmann - ATWOnline News)

No comments: