Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways is set to add the single-aisle Airbus SE’s A321neo LR aircraft to its fleet with the aim to operate flights from London to Thailand. While the airline currently has just one Airbus SE’s A321neo LR aircraft in its fleet, it will add seven more by the end of 2020. The company also plans to further double its capacity by the end of 2023.
The airline is also considering acquiring the XLR version of the aircraft to add routes to Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China.
With regard to the airlines flying single-aisle flights from London to Thailand, Marwan Boodai, founder of Jazeera Airways told the media that, “When you go east you get a much wider market. You can reach Thailand and Manila and many other destinations with a high density that we can serve best as a low-cost carrier.”
He added, “We want the flexibility of a narrow-body and to be able to fill it, rather than the theoretical advantage of a wide-body.”
Jazeera Airway’s flight from London to Thailand will compete with Emirates which operates on the same route using much wider aircraft.
The demand for single-aisle or narrow-bodied aircraft are on the rise across the Atlantic, however, it is yet to penetrate the Asia-Europe market. According to Marwan Boodai, discount carriers like Jazeera Airways needs to use such aircraft as it helps to control capacity.
Earlier this month, the airline announced an 85 percent on-time performance with a high aircraft utilisation of 14.38 hours during the month of August. It operated 1,918 flights to 28 airports and carried around 263,800 passengers during the period.
The airline also announced that it will use CommSoft’s Open Aviation Strategic Engineering System (OASES) as its MRO software system.