Kuwait Airways will spend approximately $2.5 billion on 28 new aircraft to be delivered by 2026, according to media reports. Speaking to reporters, Kuwait Airways’ chairman, Yousef AMJ Alsaqer, said that the aircraft will be financed with bank debt, the airline’s capital and through the sale and re-leasing of aircraft from its fleet. He declined to say how much the airline plans to borrow.
“So far we don’t have an agreement with a particular bank or a certain funding boy, but everything is planned,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters, adding that Kuwait Airways has already paid instalments for the new aircraft. Alsaqer was speaking at an event marking the arrival of the airline’s first Airbus A320neo jet.
The plane is one of 28 the airline plans to receive by 2026, including 16 A320neo jets valued at $60 million each, eight A330-800s valued at $100 million each and five A350-900, each worth between $130 and $150 million. In 2019, the airline hopes to reach a target of 5 million passengers, up from 4.1 million in 2017.
