Dawn of a new Jazeera?

Last year marked something of a homecoming for Jazeera’s new CEO, Barathan Pasupathi. This is Singaporean citizen Pasupathi’s second stint at the airline, having been CFO from 2007-10.

Latterly, he was CEO of Singaporean low-cost carrier (LCC), Jetstar Asia and it is LCCs that have driven expansion in recent years, he noted. In countries such as Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia, LCCs account for 50-75 per cent of seats. In Kuwait, Jazeera has around 35 per cent of the local market, giving room for growth.

The carrier currently has a fleet of 13 Airbus A320ceo and 11 A320neo, with deliveries of 18 A320neo and eight A321neo due to start in 2026. Given the continuing problems with new-generation engines and ongoing delivery delays, Pasupathi is happy to retain the older-generation ceos as part of the fleet.

As part of this process, Jazeera announced plans in December last year to purchase six of the A320ceo it currently has on lease. The move from leased to owned aircraft is aimed at reducing unit costs and mitigating the ongoing supply chain challenges that have badly affected deliveries of new aircraft.

“We’re very pleased with the ceo,” Pasupathi said. “We’re equally pleased with the 18-20 per cent fuel saving we’re getting with the neo. However, look at the current supply chain and log-jam with manufacturers.” Although nobody has indicated that Jazeera’s aircraft will be delayed, “We still need our aircraft to be delivered from the second half of 2026.”

The airline has grown significantly from a decade ago, when it had seven A320s. It will expand to more than 40 aircraft when the new examples are delivered (some older aircraft will be retired or returned to lessors).

The new A321s, in particular, will be a game changer for Jazeera, said Pasupathi, notably on busy Indian subcontinent routes.

Whether Jazeera opts for the standard A321neo, LR or XLR variants has still to be decided. “We have to be sure it makes sense” to go beyond five to six hours’ flying time, he said.

Jazeera is also looking at ‘densifying’ seating on its aircraft. Although this may mean less leg-room, with an average flight time of just under three hours, the CEO does not see this as deterring passengers.

India is a major target for future expansion: “There are one million Indian residents in Kuwait, but one of the lowest number of bilateral seats. There’s a tremendous opportunity for us to pursue. I think Kuwait has got a great case."

Recently, Jazeera has made considerable inroads into Central Asia. The Moslem nations there, which traditionally had limited international air links, have provided a ready-made market for Gulf carriers such as Jazeera. The decision by Saudi Arabia to extend the duration of umrah, the ‘little pilgrimage’, has made religious traffic from the region almost a year-round phenomenon.

Going in the other direction, several Central Asian nations are investing in inbound tourism, which is slowly attracting Gulf Arabs who enjoy visiting countries with a culture and history that overlays their own.

Closer to home, one of Jazeera’s biggest markets is Egypt, while Saudi Arabia is also a major destination, with the Kuwaiti carrier having as many as eight frequencies a day to Jeddah, three or four to Medina and Riyadh, plus services to several regional centres.

Jazeera is unusual in having its own terminal at Kuwait International Airport – Terminal Five. This has proved so popular that it is operating beyond design capacity – almost five million passengers in 2024 compared with its capacity of around 3.5 million.

Given Jazeera’s planned expansion: “We really need to build terminal capacity to 7.5 to 8 million in the next two to three years.” Land is available adjacent to T5 and the expansion plan – ‘T5E’ – is being finalised. Construction will take 18–24 months.

To counter Jazeera’s longstanding complaint of some Gulf carriers dumping capacity in Kuwait and ferrying Kuwaiti traffic through their hubs, Jazeera has kept its fares as low as possible and created direct flights to around 60 destinations, instead of passengers requiring a layover of several hours further down the Gulf.