Wataniya Airways

History

Wataniya Airways was formed as part of the Kuwait Government’s liberalization of aviation services in 2005^[2] and was founded by Kuwaiti corporations including Kipco and Global Investment House. The airline launched a public offering of 350 million shares in January 2006, the equivalent of 70% of its capital of KWD50 million (USD 188 million), and listed its shares on the Kuwait Stock Exchange by the end of 2008.^[3]

Wataniya Airways' visual identity was created by the Peter Schmidt Group and unveiled to the public in May 2008. The tail fin of Wataniya Airways' aircraft is purple, and features the internationally known symbol of Kuwait—the Kuwait Towers.^[4]

[edit] Destinations

Wataniya Airways flys to the following destinations (as of July 2009)^[5]:

[edit] Africa

• Egypt
  • Cairo (Cairo International Airport)
  • Sharm El Sheikh (Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport)

[edit] Asia

• Kuwait
  • Kuwait City (Kuwait International Airport) Sheikh Saad General Aviation Terminal ^[6] (hub)
• Bahrain
  • Bahrain International Airport)
• Syria
  • Damascus (Damascus International Airport)
• Jordan
  • Amman (Queen Alia International Airport)
• Lebanon
  • Beirut (Rafic Hariri International Airport)
• United Arab Emirates
  • Dubai (Dubai International Airport) ^[6]

[edit] Cabin

Wataniya Airways offers two classes of service: First Class and Premium Economy Class.^[7]

First Class offers 26 seats in a configuration of 2×2, with a seat pitch of 44 inches.

Premium Economy offers 96 seats in a configuration of 3×3, with a seat pitch of 34 inches.

[edit] Fleet

As of May 2009 the Wataniya Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:^[8][9]

Three new Airbus A320 aircraft will be leased and delivered in 2010 from Dutch-based AerCap Holdings for nine years.^[10] Wataniya Airways aims to have at least 12 aircraft (including widebodies) by 2012.^[1]