Full article in JPG format: page 43 & page 44/45
The contrasting fortunes of Kuwait’s two airlines could hardly be starker. Jazeera Airways, a privately owned low-cost carrier founded in 2005, has been profitable in all but two years. Kuwait Airways, the state-owned flag carrier, has not posted a profit once in the last decade. In the past five years alone, it racked up losses of KD462 million ($1.6 billion).
Despite this, Jazeera chairman Marwan Boodai believes there are “green shoots” in Kuwait’s inefficient flag carrier. He says liberalisation of the domestic market eight years ago proved that the private sector is best placed to run airlines – and he is willing to put his money where his mouth is...
