On the wave of the oil boom of the 1940s, a national carrier was born in 1954. Initially,
Kuwait Airways Company served a limited network of Basra, Abadan, Beirut, Damascus and
Jerusalem; however, a year later the fledgling carrier was facing economic hardship, and the
government of Kuwait took a 50% interest in the airline, subsequently doubling the company's
capital. Having entered the rough and tumble world of aviation, the government finally took
100% share in Kuwait Airways.
Kuwait Airways entered the jet age in 1962 by leasing a Comet 4-C, the world's first
jet-engined airliner. In the 1960s, the national carrier rapidly expanded its route map, and
scheduled services to London began three times a week. To keep pace with fast-moving
aviation requirements, three Boeing 707s were delivered in 1968. Ten years later, Kuwait
Airways had an all Boeing 707 fleet of eight aircraft.
In 1978, Kuwait Airways entered the wide-body age by taking delivery of its first two
B747-200s, adding a third the following year. This expansion permitted Kuwait Airways to
extend its network to New York to the west and Manila to the east.
Modernization of the fleet continued, and four B727-200s were delivered in 1980-1981. Two
years later, eight Airbus A310s and A300-600s were delivered, and in 1986 three Boeing
767-200ER aircraft joined the wide-body fleet.
Following the destruction of its premises and 15 of its aircraft during the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait, the airline was relaunched. Moreover, the company was restored after the Liberation
of Kuwait, and a basic strategy was constituted to expand its operations around the world.
After the Liberation of Kuwait until 1998, the Kuwaiti Airways fleet consisted of 17
aircraft.
At the end of the year 2014, Kuwait Airways initiated the plan to develop its fleet, as it
received 35 aircraft till the end of 2023, as follows:
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5 Airbus A330-200 aircraft received between May-November 2015.
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7 Airbus A320-200CEO aircraft received between December 2014-June 2015.
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10 Boeing B777-300ER long range aircraft all received between 2016-2017.
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9 A320neo aircraft received between 2019-2023.
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4 A330-800neo aircraft received in 2020-2022.
In addition, Kuwait Airways will receive the following aircraft in the successive years:
On July 4, 2018, the Terminal 4 (T4) of Kuwait International Airport was inaugurated as
Kuwait Airways' dedicated terminal for operating its flights, with an area of approximately
seventy thousand square meters. Terminal 4, (T4) commenced functioning on August 15, 2018.
Kuwait Airways aims to re-establish its network to reach more than 46 countries around the
globe with a firm commitment to providing the finest service and comfort to passengers while
continuing to rank safety as one of highest priorities.