This week, Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways announced it had made a record annual profit of US$65.7 million for 2022. This was a 183.6 % increase over 2021 results, which the airline said resulted from robust growth and a focus on aggressive cost control.
Announcing its results on Tuesday, Jazeera Airways (Jazeera) revealed it had also exceeded pre-COVID 2019 performance by 30%. Operating revenue in 2022 grew to $595.4 million, leading to an operating profit of $87.6 million, an increase of 148% from 2021.
Jazeera is ahead of the curve in Kuwait
Photo: Jazeera Airways
In terms of passenger volumes, Jazeera outstripped the performance of its home base, Kuwait International Airport (KWI). The airline said that overall passenger traffic at KWI dropped by 26% compared to 2019, but Jazeera’s traffic grew by 19% during the same period. In 2022 Jazeera carried 3.6 million passengers, with passenger load factors climbing by 10% to 77% in 2022.
High fuel prices added around $29.4 million to operational costs. Still, Jazeera Chairman Marwan Boodai said that the airline’s focus on overall costs kept profits at a record level despite this added burden. He added:
“The fact that we carried 3.6 million passengers in 2022, up from 2.4 million in 2019, shows the strong acceptance of our business model and growing service by our customers.
“With our growing fleet, new upcoming routes and planned enhancements to our operations, 2023 is going to be another exciting year.”
Last year, Jazeera launched 15 new routes, primarily to destinations in the Middle East, North and South Asia and Europe. The new routes included Vienna (Austria), Prague (Czech Republic), Dushanbe (Tajikistan), Turkistan (Kazakhstan), Namangan (Uzbekistan), Bhairahawa (Nepal), Chattogram (Bangladesh), Xian (China), Salalah (Oman), Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram in India, and in Saudi Arabia to Qassim, Hail, Taif and Abha. This expanded Jazeera’s network to 58 destinations.
In an important milestone for its development, Jazeera received the Approved Training Organization certification from Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation in 2022. This breakthrough enables the airline to conduct its own in-house training for pilots and cabin crew at its headquarters in Kuwait.
More aircraft in service for 2023
Last year Jazeera inducted two Airbus A320neos into its fleet, the first to be delivered from an order for 28 aircraft placed in 2021. Currently, fleet data from ch-aviation.com shows the airline has 19 A320-family aircraft operating, supported by one Airbus A320-200 wet-leased. The operating aircraft include eight A320-200s and eleven A320-200neos, with the 20 A320neos and eight A321neos still on order. Jazeera forecasts its fleet will grow to 35 aircraft by 2026, suggesting a steady flow of new aircraft entering service over the next three years.
Illustrating that Russia is not off limits everywhere, Jazeera recently launched a route from Kuwait to Moscow. According to Filghtradar24.com, Jazeera flight J9335 departed Kuwait yesterday at 19:47 and, after a 4:39 hour flight, landed at Moscow Domodedovo International Airport (DME) at 00:27. Passengers were able to enjoy the comforts of the brand-new Airbus A320-251neo, registration 9K-CBJ and MSN 10850, which was delivered last September.
In its announcement, Jazeera said that the Moscow route was introduced to meet the growing demand for direct flights between Moscow and the Middle East, including onward connections to other destinations.
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