Wataniya Air plans Kuwait listing later this year |
|
Kuwait's new premium carrier, Wataniya Airways, due to launch operations in January 2009, is planning to list on the Kuwait stock exchange in November or December this year, according to a senior airline official.
"We have not yet felt the impact of credit crisis. We would be listing our shares on Kuwaiti bourse as planned, in November or December this year. Consequences of global crisis on Kuwait have been minor. So we will go ahead with the listing unless the situation changes dramatically," said Marian Pistik, project manager for Wataniya Airways.
The airline raised 500 million Kuwaiti dinars in an initial public offering (IPO) in 2006. "We managed to raised enough capital in our IPO in 2006 and our shareholders are not in a rush to dispose of their capital," Pistik said.
While all premium airlines across the globe have had to fold their wings in the last few months owing to credit crunch, Wataniya Airways would be positioning itself as a "premium" carrier with aircraft configuration of 26 First Class seats and 96 Premium Economy seats, according to Pistik.
"On the front end, we would have a strong premium product. We are not a network carrier."
"There is a strong demand for a premium service in Kuwait. We are going to provide premium service for Kuwaitis who want to take a day trip in the region. And we are not going to be the cheapest airline but tickets will be cheaper for those who book early, just like for other airlines," he said.
The airline plans to fly to destinations within a two-hour flying distance of Kuwait, he added.
With plans afoot to have nine aircraft in its fleet in the first three years of operations, Wataniya would start flying with one leased Airbus A320 and would get three more leased A320s by the end of the next year.
By Shweta Jain
© Emirates Business 24/7 2008
Community Comments (0) - 
Comment on this article 
Comment on this article
The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect Zawya. Read our Comment Policy.
Loading ...
Zawya Comment Policy:
-
Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another’s privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse. - The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
- Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
- By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
Community Buzz
Stories
Companies
Most viewed companies by Community in the last 24 hrs
| Company Name | Country | Industry |
| Abu Dhabi Investment Council | UAE | Investment Firms and Funds |
| Saudi Binladin Group | Saudi Arabia | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Telecom | Saudi Arabia | Telecommunications Services |
| Consolidated Contractors Company | Overseas | Construction and Design |
| Mubadala Development Company | UAE | Investment Firms and Funds |
| Al Hilal Bank | UAE | Banking |
| Barwa Real Estate Company | Qatar | Landlords and Developers |
| Emaar Properties | UAE | Landlords and Developers |
| Al Rajhi Investment Group | Saudi Arabia | Investment Firms and Funds |
| Saudi Arabian Oil Company | Saudi Arabia | Oil |
Projects
Most viewed projects by Community in the last 24 hrs
| Project Name | Country | Sector |
| IPIC - Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| Dubai RTA - Dubai Metro - Purple Line | UAE | Infrastructure |
| Qatar Foundation - Sidra Hospital | Qatar | Real Estate |
| Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) - Smelter Complex | UAE | Industry |
| ADCO - SAS Field Development | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| Abu Dhabi Municipality - Salam Street and Mina Road Development | UAE | Infrastructure |
| Ras Tanura Integrated Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Qatalum Aluminum Smelter | Qatar | Industry |
| KNPC - Al Zour Refinery | Kuwait | Oil and Gas |
| Nakheel - Dubai Waterfront | UAE | Real Estate |
Blogs
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
