Jazeera Airways To Buy 28 A320neo Family Planes From Airbus
The board of Kuwait-based budget airline Jazeera Airways has finally approved a deal to acquire 28 A320neo family aircraft. The deal was first struck in November 2021 at the Dubai Airshow, but only as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Now, with official board approval, the $3.4 billion order’s status can now be considered firm. The move will see the all-Airbus narrowbody operator expand and modernize its fleet as it looks to better compete in the region.
Commenting on his airline’s decision to expand the fleet with additional Airbus jets, Jazeera Airways Chairman Marwan Boodai said in November:
“Jazeera Airways is pleased to extend its long-term relationship with Airbus further with this significant new order. We will effectively double our current fleet size to 35 aircraft by 2026…We have exciting expansion plans ahead, which will further boost our contribution to the Kuwait economy and, in particular, the travel sector.”
Going for a stretch
Of the 28 Airbus narrowbodies ordered, 20 will be the midsize A320neo, with the other eight as stretched A321neos. This is a notable change from what the carrier has been operating thus far. Up until now, Jazeera Airways has been operating the A320 size only.
With the longer (and longer range) A321neo, not only are higher capacities achieved but new destinations are also made accessible to the airline. While the A320neo’s stated range is 3,400NM (6,300KM), the A321neo has a range of 4,000NM (7,400km). This opens up additional destinations in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Southeast Asia. Could Johannesburg (South Africa) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) be on the airline’s radar? We’ll have to wait and see!
Rohit Ramachandran, CEO of Jazeera Airways, noted that the purchase of both A320neos and A321neos will offer the airline“great flexibility to extend our network to medium and longer-haul destinations from Kuwait,” noting that more destinations will give passengers more choice to travel and enjoy popular destinations as those relatively underserved.
Acquisition of spare engines also approved
According to Gulf News, the Jazeera Airways board also approved an agreement to purchase two CFM engines as spares for the fleet. While engine deals don’t typically make the headlines, they do have hefty price tags, with the Jazeera deal coming in at a $32.2 million list price.
Is Jazeera Airways becoming a hybrid airline?
Jazeera Airways’ current fleet consists of just 17 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. Eight of these are the older A320-200 ‘ceo’ variant, while the remaining nine are the newer generation A320neo. While the airline’s older A320-200 aircraft are configured with an all-economy cabin seating of 165 seats, the NEOs have two classes and divide into 12 business class seats and 144 in economy class.
This type of setup is somewhat atypical for a budget airline- as this category of carrier tends to have a single-class cabin. However, as it has continued to expand its fleet and destinations, Jazeera Airways appears to be moving away from the standard low-cost model. With the airline eventually taking another size of aircraft, it certainly looks to be more like a “JetBlue” type of carrier than a Ryanair of sorts. So would we also see lie-flat seating on the A321neo to appeal to customer desire for long-haul comfort? It’s certainly another thing we’ll have to wait to see
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