KUWAIT CITY (AFP) — Kuwait's new airline Wataniya Airways on Wednesday signed a deal to lease three Airbus A-320s for nine years from the Dutch-based AerCap Holdings.
Wataniya chairman Abdulsalam al-Bahar told a news conference the new aircraft will be delivered in 2010, but declined to reveal the value of the deal.
The new carrier plans to begin operations in January next year. In December, it signed a deal to lease three similar aircraft from Kuwait's Aviation Lease and Finance Co (ALAFCO) for delivery in January.
Bahar said the airline will fly to destinations in the Gulf and the Middle East, and plans to expand farther afield in the future.
Kuwait already has a national carrier, Kuwait Airways Corp., which will be privatised next year. Jazeera Airways, a low-fare airline, is also Kuwaiti.
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