Kuwait Airways Facing Problems

Kuwait Airways has become the next global carrier to face fresh problems because of operational struggles.

The Chairman of the state-owned carrier said multiple things were impacting the ability to meet targets laid out in the development of the business. Still, aircraft deliveries were certainly a primary cause for concern.

Kuwait Airways is ultimately just one of the many global airlines facing a similar unfortunate set of circumstances surrounding the delivery of next-generation aircraft from global planemakers.

In the case of the Kuwait-based company, there’s a struggle in taking delivery of new aircraft from Airbus, with the Chairman informing Reuters that there are still nine aircraft due.

The nine aircraft should be delivered over the coming years; however, they’re already seeing the effects of the delays driven by the associated supply chain constraints, preventing the shipment of new planes to customers.

For example, based on previously outlined forecasting, Kuwait Airways had hopes of crossing the total fleet mark of over 30 units by 2024, which was one year ago, in a bid to renew and grow.

However, the trajectory of the fleet has more or less taken the opposite turn, with the actual reality of the total fleet in 2024 being nearly a third less than expectations.

Now, as 2025 comes to a close, the carrier still doesn’t believe it’ll hit the targeted 33 total operational aircraft by the end of 2025, which would represent more than 18 months without the initially forecasted fleet amount.

The Kuwait Airways Fleet

Kuwait Airways currently has 28 aircraft in its fleet, according to available data as of August 12, 2025. The Chairman said 27 are available to it.

The carrier’s largest reliance comes in the form of its highest-capacity model, the Boeing 777-300ER, where 10 units remain in active service, averaging 8.4 years, which is relatively young for this aircraft type now in the mid-2020s.

The airline’s only other widebody type is visible through the Airbus A330neo, with seven delivered across the A330-800 and A330-900; it is one of the only airlines to have taken delivery of the smallest variant in the program, with four units present here.

For the airlines’ single-aisle division, there are nine delivered Airbus A320neo aircraft, one listed as parked, bringing the active fleet to eight.

To complement this, there are also two of the higher-capacity A321neo jets in service, which are the youngest when measured by average age at just 2 months.

However, with just 27 aircraft in service, the hope would be to see this figure reach 30 by the end of the year, but this is still well short of expectations, with other deliveries coming in 2027.

The multi-year delay means there are challenges in the planned development of the network as intended, having financial knock-on effects and also the resulting possibility of market share losses as competitors stride ahead with greater capacity available to meet demand.

Other Concerns For The Business

While aircraft delivery constraints are spelling frustrations for Kuwait Airways, it wouldn’t just be this that’s impacting its day-to-day operations.

Disruptions throughout the industry on a geopolitical front are also a cause for concern, as Kuwait Airways mentioned this, days after Ethiopian Airlines said something similar.

The unrest across the Middle East has continued, alongside the long-established war between Ukraine and Russia. Since the beginning of 2025, the adminsitration change in the U.S. has presented fresh concerns for countries around the world.

The disruption means that for Kuwait Airways, there’s greater uncertainty on whether its perfromance across 2025 will meet the expectations which were initially laid out.

While this has an impact on the business, it can rest easy knowing much of the tension remains out of its control and is something being felt across the industry; therefore, it’s important to manage the challenges and not fall behind.