Kuwaiti low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways announced on October 4th the launch of service to Dhaka, Bangladesh. This will offer a direct connection between Kuwait and Bangladesh’s capital city twice per week and has a good chance of taking away market share from some of the carriers in the United Arab Emirates.
Details of the new service
Using some of the airline’s brand new A320neo aircraft, flights will carry passengers between Kuwait International Airport’s Terminal 5 (Jazeera Airways’ exclusive facility) to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.
From Kuwait, this service will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays while on Wednesdays and
Thursdays flights will depart Dhaka. Below are the details of the departure and arrival times as well as flight numbers:
Simple Flying reached out to Jazeera Airways requesting information on when this service will begin. The airline responded, notifying us that service has already commenced as of October 1st. (The announcement was postponed due to the passing of Kuwait’s Emir.)
Serving Kuwait’s Bangladeshi community
With Kuwait’s significant South Asian migrant-worker population, Jazeera Airways’ new service is likely to appeal to this segment of the market. As a low-cost carrier, Jazeera Airways has the added advantage of offering its services at a competitive price, for a mostly price-conscious market.
“We are extremely pleased to be able to open up a route to Dhaka as we climb back out of the difficult times we have all been through. It shows the strength of our airline that we are able to expand our network at this time. We are now able to serve the Bangladeshi community in Kuwait with a direct service and look forward to increasing our frequencies in the future.’’ -Rohit Ramachandran, CEO Jazeera Airways
Although this will mainly serve Kuwait’s Bangladeshi community, it could also appeal to Bangladeshi migrant populations in other countries in the region. The flight will allow for connections through Kuwait through to other destinations in Jazeera’s growing network (when more services come back online).
“We are delighted to partner with Jazeera Airways. We see a huge opportunity for flights to Kuwait but also connecting our customers to Saudi Arabia and other destinations in the region.’’ -Managing Director Ahmed Yusuf Walid, Galaxy Group (Bangladesh sales group)
Competition in the region
This new service is likely to compete mostly with the low-cost carriers of the UAE. This includes Sharjah-based Air Arabia and Dubai-based flydubai. Both of these budget airlines offer one-stop service between Kuwait and Dhaka. The key advantages of Jazeera Airways’ direct service are convenience and time savings. Passengers won’t need to break up their journey with an additional flight and could save at least two hours, if not much more.
Jazeera Airways’ direct service to Dhaka will take between five and a half to six hours. Meanwhile, a connecting service with Air Arabia is at least eight hours. For travelers wanting a higher level of service, however, flying with Qatar Airways will take over 10 hours.
