MANAMA: The current economic situation is an ideal opportunity for new airlines to start business and reap benefits of record low oil prices, a top official at the Kuwait’s newly launched Wataniya Airways said.
Wataniya Airways Chairman Abdulsalam Al-Bahar, who was in Bahrain at the launch of the Bahrain-Kuwait flight on Thursday, said the aviation sector would witness growth in 2009 and beyond.
“Keeping in view the potential, Wataniya would add more destinations to tap the business opportunities in the premier travel segment,” he said. “We have seen record high oil prices of $150 per barrel with the projections to reach $200 per barrel which really hit the airline industry. The current oil prices between $30 to $40 per barrel is very reasonable and perhaps in the aviation industry nobody had ever thought of a decrease in fuel prices of such levels,” Al-Bahar said.
“The fuel prices are major factors for the aviation industry to make or break and this is an ideal time for any new airline to come and seize the opportunity. The fuel costs constitute between 30 to 40 percent of operational cost and for Wataniya we are upbeat that the current situation will add a new dimension to our business,” he said.
With a capital of $190 million, Wataniya is a privately owned airline. The majority of its shares are held by Kuwait Projects Co.(KIPCO) and it is listed on the Kuwait bourse. The airline has 250 employees from 39 different nationalities.
Earlier, Wataniya Airways, Kuwait’s first premium, full-service airline, announced the start of two daily scheduled flights to Bahrain International Airport from Thursday. This is the third new route that the airline has launched this week, demonstrating its commitment to provide a high value service to popular destinations across the Middle East. The new airline, headquartered in Kuwait and already flying to Dubai, has launched daily flights to Beirut and Cairo earlier in the week, representing a great achievement in an industry marked by competition for space at these popular airports.
Wataniya Airways has now added Bahrain to a growing list of important short-haul destinations that have been identified as being of particular interest to travelers to and from Kuwait.
