Kuwaiti airline Jazeera Airways has firmed up an order for 28 Airbus A320neo family aircraft, including 20 Airbus A320neos and eight Airbus A321neo jets.
“The A320neo Family offers the right size, economics and customer comfort for Jazeera Airways to serve its growing customer base and open new routes competitively,” Christian Scherer, Airbus chief commercial officer and head of Airbus International announced in a press statement.
Jazeera currently has a fleet of 17 A320 family aircraft: nine Airbus A320neos and eight Airbus A320-200s. The new Airbus order will effectively double Jazeera’s current fleet size to 35 aircraft, which Jazeera said will support its expansion plans.
The Airbus A320neo aircraft is a standard single-aisle jet suitable for short and medium-haul operations. The aircraft has two engine options: Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G-JM geared turbofan, and CFM International’s LEAP-1A. It has a maximum range of 6,400 nautical miles (11,853 kilometers) and is capable of seating up to 180 passengers.
Meanwhile, the Airbus A321neo jet is the longest fuselage aircraft in the A320neo family fleet. It has a capability to up to 220 passengers in a typical two-seating configuration and has a maximum range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 kilometers).
The order comes as Jazeera reported a return to profit for 2021, and said it was looking forward to a strong 2022.
The airline reported a net profit of KD7.1 million ($23.4m) for 2021, helped by easing travel restrictions, cost control and a focus on “COVID-safe” destinations and connecting flights. Revenue rose 94% to KD80.4 million ($265.3m).
“The challenges that the pandemic brought about in the travel industry in 2020 also opened new opportunities for our airline: cargo operations, charter flights and connecting routes were expanded to benefit our business,” Jazeera Airways’ chief executive officer, Rohit Ramachandran said in a statement on February 14, 2022.
“We are confident that restrictions on the travel sector will only continue to ease, and traffic will return to pre-Covid-19 levels,” Jazeera chairman, Marwan Boodai said of the outlook for 2022. “As for Jazeera, we are looking forward to moving forward with our expansion plans, growing our network and fleet as well as our business capabilities.”