Business

Saturday April 7, 2007

Kuwait Airways offers outbound travel

By IAN MCINTYRE



KUWAIT CITY: After a hiatus of over a decade due to technical hiccups, Kuwait Airways has made a comeback to Malaysia with two flights weekly out of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) since November.

Besides eyeing KLIA as a potential regional hub, it hopes to generate a new outbound market segment of leisure and corporate travellers in view of Asia’s rapid economic rise.

Its Malaysia manager Ricky Tay said the airline was among the first from the Middle East to fly to Malaysia in the 1980s, but due to some technical disruptions, flights were scrapped.

With many other Arab airlines such as Emirates Air having started flying to KLIA, Kuwait Airways is gearing up to become more competitive.

”We see Arab airlines as having a foothold in Malaysia due to growth in tourism, trade and investment. Our advantage is the Arabs see Malaysia as a fellow Islamic nation so they feel at ease in pursuing prospects in tourism,” Tay said in conjunction with a recent Malaysian travel trade familiarisation tour of its services and tour packages.

Tay said while Malaysia was fast becoming a haven for the inbound Arab market, airlines were suffering from the lack of outbound load. This means the aircraftdo not have many passengers on the return flight.

“The same may apply to other Arab carriers. So in view of this, Kuwait Airways has struck a deal with a consortium of nine Malaysian outbound travel agents to help promote it from next month,” Tay said.

The tie-up with a local consortium comprising seasoned outbound travel agencies was to promote the carrier, and its European and African destinations, Tay said.

He said the airline was banking on the tie-up to help boost its passenger load by at least 40% from next month. “We have an excellent network with five main points – London, Geneva, Rome, Paris and Egypt – offering great outbound packages,” he said.

To promote the airline, the tour packages would be attractively priced from RM4,500 per person for a group with at least 10 members for a five-night stay in Europe and Egypt, inclusive of food and accommodation, he added.

The Kuwait World Holidays package is offered in collaboration with ground handler Gulliver Travel Associates. For enquiries, visit
www.ku-world.com.

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story