Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 We, the airline, don't work for a month, quarter or half a year.
00:05 We work for a whole year.
00:07 As you know, the airline covers the season.
00:10 The first quarter is called the "shoulder season".
00:15 Ramadan was a big part of the first quarter,
00:18 which negatively affects the movement of travelers and anyone among us.
00:23 For this reason, you find that the movement is less.
00:25 Despite all this, the airline has moved 1.2 million passengers in the first quarter.
00:31 This is the highest number we have reached.
00:33 We have operated 23 aircraft in our fleet.
00:36 Our goal in the airline is to build positive steps forward,
00:41 to the future, and we are still taking these steps to achieve good results at the end of the year.
00:47 But why the loss? Why did you fail in the first quarter?
00:51 You mentioned in the statement that the reason is the decrease in foreign currency.
00:55 We are talking about the Egyptian market.
00:56 You have a large activity in Egypt. Is that right?
00:59 Exactly.
01:00 No doubt, Egypt is one of the most important markets for us.
01:03 There are fluctuations, but these are temporary.
01:06 We lived the past period, and it was very difficult to deal with sales,
01:11 to evaluate the price of tickets, and channels of sales in the Arab Republic of Egypt,
01:16 due to the fluctuations in currency.
01:18 But now, the vision has been made clear.
01:21 Yes, there was a severe loss due to the devaluation of the currency,
01:27 but for us, we took a decision as a management body,
01:30 to calculate the total loss in this quarter, and we ended it.
01:34 If the currency had lost, the island would not have lost in the first quarter.
01:39 But for us, this is history.
01:41 I want to emphasize again, the airlines, the low cost,
01:45 and the larger size of the island, always have a quarter-year loss,
01:51 but it is due to the currency market, which is the summer market, and the high seasons.
01:55 So, its results are calculated as a year-end result, not as a quarter-year result.
01:59 Okay, let's talk about the current fleet, and what are you planning for the future?
02:04 The current fleet now has 23 aircraft.
02:06 We are clearly working with the authorities in the State of Kuwait,
02:10 and especially the Civil Aviation Administration, because we are partners in this.
02:14 We are also partners in the Kuwaiti Airlines, as national carriers in the State of Kuwait.
02:18 The island is specialized in Narobadi, or short-range and regional aircraft.
02:25 We have delivered 23 aircraft, and we have provided the city planes in the State of Kuwait.
02:29 We have planned our entire plan, and the future of our movement,
02:32 and we will deliver, God willing, in the next five years,
02:34 from 2028 to 50 aircraft.
02:36 We have contracted with Airbus, as you know, for more than 3 billion dollars,
02:40 to supply us with 320 and 321 aircraft.
02:44 And, thank God, this agreement was in good timing, in November 2021,
02:49 when the markets were down, so we got slots, or let's call them good delivery dates,
02:55 from Airbus, starting with us from mid-2026, and extending to 2028 and beginning of 2029.
03:03 With all this in consideration, the geopolitical issues, rising prices,
03:11 is the aircraft industry profitable?
03:15 The aircraft industry, like any other industry, like any other trade, like any other sector,
03:20 can be profitable or can be losing.
03:25 It is a process of recovery.
03:27 If you can balance the work, so that the cost of operation is less,
03:32 and much less than the cost of sales, then you can be profitable.
03:38 In the low-cost carrier, and this is our specialty,
03:40 we are not talking about what is called legacy or the luxury aircraft.
03:45 Most of them are losing.
03:47 Most of them are losing, and you are right, because it is natural for them to lose.
03:50 But when we come to the low-cost carrier, and we look, not only in our region,
03:54 but also in the world, a large part of the companies, or most of the low-cost carriers,
03:59 are profitable companies, and their profits are measurable.
04:02 We are not talking about small profits.
04:04 Today, when we look at Ryanair, its profits are higher than the entire British Airways Group.
04:08 When we look at EasyJet, its profits are higher.
04:11 Even in the US, Southwest Airlines, its profits are higher than many of its counterparts
04:18 from the old American companies.
04:20 So, the nature of low-cost carrier is profitable, rewarding, and giving big profits,
04:25 if it is managed with the right costs and the right method.