Krilataya is founded at Moscow in 1993 to offer domestic and international all-cargo charter services. A. P. Bolshakov is general director and revenue flights begin with a single Ilyushin ll-76. Flights continue until 1996.
KRILO MALOE AVIATSIONNO SMALL AVIATION TRANSPORT ENTERPRISE (TRANSPORTNOE PREDPRIYTIE WING): Russia (1994-1996). Established at Moscow in 1994 to offer ad hoc passenger and cargo charters, KM begins domestic services under the general directorship of E. I. Gorbunov and with a fleet, unspecified in number, of Antonov An-26s and Yakovlev Yak-42s. Flights cease in 1996.
KRIS AIR, LTD.: Singapore (1977-1980). Privately owned Kris Air, Ltd. is formed at Singapore in June 1977 to provide all-cargo charter services to various destinations in Southeast Asia. After acquiring a
Fokker F.27-200 and four Curtiss C-46R Commandos, the company begins services in August.
Although a Vickers VC10 freighter is also acquired, Chairman Lim Kong Bu’s 25-employee carrier is unable to maintain its viability in the face of higher costs, led by fuel prices, and must cease operations in 1980.
KROONDUIF. See KLM (ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES, N. V.)
KRYLO AVIAKOMPANIA: 2, Sokoinicheski Val, Moscow, 107113, Russia; Phone 7 (095) 350-3624; Fax 7 (095) 264-2750; Code KRI; Year Founded 1993. Based at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, Krylo and its sister carrier, Poliot Chernobyl, are subsidiaries of GOSSNII-GA, the Russian State Scientific and Research Institute for Civil Aviation. When, as a result of a national economic downturn in 1993, this organization, established in the days of Aeroflot Soviet Airlines to test and develop civil aviation concepts, is left largely unfunded, it is forced to earn its own income.
Consequently, the two subsidiaries begin international passenger and charter flights to raise the currency necessary for GOSSNII-GA to continue. V. A. Goriatchev is placed in charge of the enterprise and begins revenue service with a fleet that includes 4 Ilyushin Il-18s, 1 Il-62, 1 Il-76, 3 Antonov An-12s, 1 An-30, and 1 each Tupolev Tu-154 and Tu-134.
Operations continue apace during the remainder of the decade, during which years the Tupolev jetliners are withdrawn. A total of 65 workers are employed at the beginning of 2000.
K2000 AIRLINES, LTD.: New Zealand (1999-2000). K2000 is established by Kiwi International Airlines founder Ewan Wilson at Auckland in late fall 1999 to offer regional scheduled and charter passenger flights. An eight-person workforce is assembled by Managing Director Jeffrey Mathews and a Boeing 737-4Y0 is subleased from Pegasus Airlines (Pegasus Hava Tasimaciligi, A. S.), with which an alliance has been signed. Revenue flights commence on December 1, linking Auckland, Dunedin, and Hamilton with Brisbane, Sydney, and Rarotonga.
Citing lack of demand and stiff competition from Air New Zealand, Ltd. and Qantas Airways, Ltd., the company shuts down on January 11,2000.
KUBAN AIRLINES: Krasnodar Airport, Krasnodar, Southern Zone, 350026, Russia; Phone 7 (8612) 370500; Fax 7 (8612) 321935; Http://www. kuban. ru/~airlines; Code GW; Year Founded 1992. The
Kuban directorate of Aeroflot Soviet Airlines, originally established in 1932, is privatized in 1992 and formed into this joint stock concern. Ownership is divided between the Russian state (51%) and employees (49%). Ivan R. Babichev is named director general and he oversees the inauguration of privatized domestic services with a fleet of 9 Antonov An-24Bs, 4 An-24Vs, 9 An-26s, 4 An-26Bs, 1 Let L-410UVP, 5 Yak-42Ds, and 6 Yak-42s.
Flights continue in 1993-1998, during which years scheduled destinations come to include Adler/Sochi, Gyoumni, Kazan, Moscow, Naberevnye Chelny, Nzhenevartovsk, Sartov, St. Petersburg, Surgut, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Ufa, and Volgograd. Long-haul charters to Frankfurt are also frequently undertaken.
Enplanements during the latter year total 504,000.
Customer bookings inch up 1.8% in 1999 to 512,000, while 8 million FTKs are operated. Revenues of $26 million are generated.
Late in 2000, a Russian-language homepage is opened on the Internet’s World Wide Web. At the end of the year, it is learned that the Russian Ministry of State Property, which owns 51% of Kuban, intends to put up a percentage of its stake in the airline for sale in the new year as part of a package of 30 state holdings that are to be privatized. It will first be necessary for the Duma to amend the current law prohibiting the sale of state holdings exceeding $17 million in valuation.
KUILIMAAIR SERVICE: United States (1973). Robert Faker establishes KAS at Kulima Air Park in early 1973 in order to provide scheduled passenger and cargo flights to Honolulu with a Cessna 402C. Unable to achieve viability, the new commuter is unable to finish out the year.
KUMERTAU EXPRESS: Kumertau 54, Bashkortskaya, 453350, Russia; Phone 7 (34761) 22300; Year Founded 1994. Kumertau Production Enterprise (Kumertauskoe Aviatsionnoe Proivodstvehnniya Predr-e) is set up at Bashkortskaya in 1994 as the air transport arm of a local manufacturer. General Manager B. S. Malishev commences ad hoc passenger and cargo charters with an all-Antonov fleet that includes an unspecified number of Antonov An-8s, An -12s, An -24s, and An -26s.
Flights continue in 1995-2000, during which years the company is renamed and the number of aircraft is reduced to just 1 each An-26 and An-30. The fleet now includes 1 each An-12, An-30, An-8, and Yakovlev Yak-40.
KUMERTAU PRODUCTION ENTERPRISE (KUMERTAUSKOE AVIATSIONNOE PROIVODSTVEHNNIYA PREDR-E). See KUMERTAU EXPRESS
KUNGSAIR NORRKOPING, A. B.: Sweden (1984-1990). KNAB is organized at Norrkoping in 1984 to offer both charter and scheduled services. Managing Director Lennart Olsson oversees a fleet that comprises 1 Beech 99, 1 Cessna Citation 500, 1 Piper PA-31T Cheyenne II, 2 Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftains, and 1 PA-31-310 Navajo. Scheduled services are inaugurated to Linkoping, Nykoping, and Trollhattan. The Navajo is withdrawn in 1986-1987. Operations are maintained until 1990, when economic difficulties force the carrier to stop flying.
KURGAN STATE AIR ENTERPRISE (KURGANSKOE GOSU-DARTSVENNOE): Kurgan Airport, Kurgan, Urals Zone, 640009, Russia; Phone 7 (35222) 93234; Fax 7 (35222) 99747; Code KURG; Year Founded 1993. Kurgan Avia is established at Kurgan in 1993 to provide domestic freight and passenger charters. Valeriy Bolshakov is general manager and services are undertaken with a mixed fleet of Antonov An-24s, An-26s, and Tupolev Tu-154s.
Airline employment totals 755 in 1994; operations continue in 1995-2000. During these years, the Tupolev is leased out to other carriers and revenue flights are undertaken with 8 An-24s, 2 An-26s, 2 An-2 biplanes, and 1 Kamov Ka-32 helicopter.
KURSK AIR ENTERPRISE: 24 Kursk Aeroport, Kursk, Central Regions Zone ATD, 305024, Russia; Phone 7 (70122) 61205; Fax 7 (70122) 61733; Code KRS; Year Founded 1994. KAE is set up at
Kursk Airport in 1994 to offer domestic ad hoc passenger and charter services. New General Director V. V. Darakhvilidze launches revenue flights with an all-Antonov fleet, made up of an unspecified number of An-2s, An -24s, and An -26s.
Flights continue in 1995-1998, during which years the fleet comprises 8 An-24s, 5 An-26s, and 33 An-2 biplanes.
KUSTANAI UNITED AIR DETACHMENT: Kustani Airport, Kus-tani, 458017, Kazakhstan; Phone 7 (3142) 274 855; Year Founded 1993. Established at Kustani Airport in the spring of 1993, Comdr. Valery V. Lamanov’s new Kazakhstani airline begins domestic freight and passenger services with an all-Antonov fleet of An-24s and An-26s.
Operations continue in 1995-2000 with 6 An-24s and 10 An-2 biplanes.
KUWAIT AIRWAYS (KUWAIT AIRWAYS CORPORATION, LTD.): P. O. Box 394, Kuwait International Airport, Safat, 13004, Kuwait; Phone 965 434 5555; Fax 965 431 4118; Http://www. travelfirst. com/sub/kuwaitair. html; Code KU; Year Founded 1954.
Together with other local interests, the Sheik of Kuwait in March 1954 establishes Kuwait National Airways Corporation as the country’s national carrier. Three Douglas DC-3s are acquired; crews and technical assistance are provided by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) affiliate British International Airlines, Ltd. Services are launched in May over routes to Basra and Beirut, the latter via Jerusalem or Damascus.
The Basra segment is extended to Cairo in April 1955. In July, the Kuwait government takes 50% control, and the airline’s name is changed to that presently employed.
A DC-3 is lost under unknown circumstances at Durkham, Saudi Arabia, on February 18, 1956. Two Handley Page Hermes 4s are placed in service during the summer and operations continue apace during 1957.
The government takes full control on June 1, 1958, but at the request of the British government, BOAC is allowed to retain management responsibility. The first Viscount 700 is delivered on September 18 and enters service on October 1. Orderly retirement of the Hermes IVs and DC-3s begins.
As of January 1, 1959, the carrier possesses an all-Viscount 700 fleet. Kuwait-Karachi and Bombay flights via Bahrain are begun during the summer. In September, British International Airlines, Ltd. is purchased and merged. The fleet in 1960-1961 includes three Viscount 702s, a Viscount 761, and a Viscount 776.
In 1962, government ownership is increased from 50% to 100% while competition is offered by newly formed Trans-Arabian Airways, Ltd. An chartered Avro 685 York C.1 freighter with three crew is destroyed as the result of a hard landing at Lahore, Pakistan, on April 6; there are no fatalities.
Orders are placed on August 8 for two de Havilland (HS) DH 106 Comet 4C jetliners and two DH 121 Trident 1Es. The next day, orders are placed for three BAC 1-11-205s. The first of the Comets arrives late in 1963.
Airline employment is 782 in 1964. The airline’s tenth anniversary is celebrated in March, on the second day of which thrice-weekly Comet 4C service to London is inaugurated. As will remain company practice, no alcoholic beverages are served on international flights. A total of 116,000 passengers are flown on the year and revenues of $10 million are earned. Trans-Arabian Airways Kuwait, Ltd., together with its DC-6Bs, is acquired and absorbed in 1965. Lease of two Comet 4C from British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) late in the year allows routes to be opened to Paris, Frankfurt, and Geneva.
The first of two Trident 1Es to be delivered in 1966 arrives on March 19, followed by the second in May. Both enter service on regional routes and then fly to Amman, Baghdad, Cairo, Karachi, and Damascus. On June 8, the company sells its three BAC 1-11-301s before delivery to British Eagle International Airways, Ltd.
Flight 32, the second Trident 1E with 11 crew and 72 passengers, crash-lands 3.5 mi. short of the runway at Kuwait City on June 30; although the aircraft must be written off, there are no fatalities.
One of the leased BOAC Comet 4Cs is purchased in December.
Bookings for the year reach 145,039.
The Six Day War of 1967 adversely affects traffic, despite the entry into service of two de Havilland DH Comet 4Cs and the retirement of the last Viscount and DC-6B. Orders remain outstanding for three B-707-320Cs.
Passenger boardings increase only 1.8% to 147,698. The employee population stands at 1,243.
Airline employment rises to 1,411 in 1968. Routes are extended to Athens and Aden. Following receipt of the Kadhma on November 14, two more Boeing 707-369Cs are delivered late in the year.
Passenger traffic soars 41% to 207,761 and total revenues top $17.1 million.
The new Boeings replace the three Comets in January 1969. Within the month, a new IBM 360/20 computer system comes on line. In April, a multistop frequency is opened to Rome.
A total of 231,383 passengers are carried on the year.
The workforce is increased 3.7% in 1970 to 1,589. Operations to Baghdad, suspended in 1967, are restarted in May. New offices are opened in Houston and Toronto and a weekly mixed passenger and cargo service is launched by B-707-369Cs over a route London-Bombay-Abadan.
Freight increases 32% and passenger boardings accelerate 26.6% to 315,236.
Two additional B-707-369Cs are placed into operation during 1971, replacing the two Trident 1Es. A route is inaugurated to Taiz, North Yemen.
Enplanements climb to 335,000.
The employee population stands at 1,703 in 1972. Five B-707-369Cs are in service and in-flight movies and stereo entertainment are introduced on board. Muscat is added to the route network.
Cargo traffic rises 13.1% and passenger traffic jumps 14.2% to 391,000.
Freight increases 4.3% and bookings climb 16.1% to 454,000 in 1973.
Airline employment is now 1,822. In 1974, two additional B-707-369Cs are placed in service (bringing the total to seven) as the carrier enjoys a seventh consecutive profitable year.
Enplanements are up 14.16% to 519,894 while freight rises 15% to 19.5 million FTKs.
The workforce stands at 1,994 in 1975. Frequencies are increased on the Bombay run and new service is inaugurated to Paris via Prague. A new policy now prohibits the serving of alcoholic drinks to passengers on any flights, domestic or international.
Passenger boardings climb 19% to 667,101 and freight jumps 27.3%.
In 1976-1977, a second nonstop London frequency is added. New routes are extended from Kuwait to Cairo, Tripoli, Casablanca, and Tunis; Kuwait to Bahrain and Dubai; Kuwait to Jeddah and Khartoum; and Kuwait to Bahrain and Ras Al Kheimah. Orders are placed for three B-747-200s and a B-737-200.
On July 8 of the latter year, six armed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijackers seize a B-707-369C on a Beirut-Kuwait flight, landing at the latter destination. There, 18 hostages are released, followed by 28 more the next morning just before the plane departs. In the air, group leader Abu Sayed is overpowered by two of his colleagues, who have had a change of heart, and three hostages. The Boeing is directed to land at Damascus, where all of the remaining prisoners are freed as the skyjackers surrender.
The first wide-bodied B-747-269BC is delivered on July 28, 1978; christened Al Sabahiya, this new aircraft makes Kuwait the 50th operator to buy Jumbojets from Boeing and begins service to London in August; at about the same time, the B-737-269 also arrives. The second Jumbojet combi, the Al Jaberiya, arrives on August 17.
Chairman/Managing Director Ghassan Al-Nisf’s company now employs a workforce of 2,412. A total of 834,000 passengers are carried on the year.
A computerized reservations system is introduced in 1979. An extensive effort is undertaken to improve service standards, staff support and training, and advertising. One additional B-747-269BC, the Al Mubarakiya, enters operations and orders are placed for three B-727-200s.
Passenger boardings grow 13.6% to 965,000.
On July 24, 1980, four gunmen hijack the B-737-269 with 80 aboard en route from Beirut to Kuwait, demanding repayment of a large sum they claim is owed to them by a Kuwaiti businessman. They later free 37 women and children before forcing the plane to fly to Iran, where the rest of the passengers are released. Kuwait authorities indicate the demands of the pirates will be met when they return and free the crewmembers still held hostage. The aircraft returns the next day and after the crew escapes, the gunmen surrender.
Transatlantic B-747-269BC service to New York begins in December as an extension of the London route.
Cargo advances 18.2% to 71.56 million FTKs, while passenger enplanements accelerate 11.5% to pass the million mark for the first time (1,076,214). The workforce is unchanged and stands at 5,342 employees.
Airline employment is increased by 4.7% in 1981 to 6,198. The B-727-269As enter service and orders are placed for five Airbus Industrie A310-222s and A300C4-203 combi airliners. Following the November signing of a joint service agreement with Philippine Airlines, long-haul flights are inaugurated to Manila via Bangkok employing KAC aircraft.
Freight soars 50.67% to 107.79 million FTKs, while passenger boardings jump 16.4% to 1,078,000. Total revenues are $323.5 million.
Airline employment is 6,531 in 1982 and a fourth B-747-269BC, the Al Salmiya, arrives on January 20. On February 22, 12 fundamentalist gunmen, led by well-known hijacker “Hamzeh,” hold 105 passengers captive for 9 hours aboard Flight 538, a B-707-369C that was diverted to Beirut from a Kuwait to Tripoli service, and demand the return of their leader, Imam Moussa Sadr, who disappeared in Libya in 1978. The pirates will surrender after being informed that the UN will mount an inquiry into the matter.
Service is launched to Seoul while domestically, air taxi operations to and from the oil fields and refineries are started with two Hawker Sid-deley HS 125 executive jets.
Cargo is up 7.3% to 115.67 million FTKs and passenger traffic rises 16.6% to 1,461,000. Revenues rise 16% to $382.6 million.
The workforce in 1983 grows 2.3% to 6,700. Three A310-222s are delivered. Police successfully dismantle a bomb at the company’s Baghdad office on March 5. A B-707-369C grazes a Pan American World Airways (1) jetliner as both are waiting to take off from Frankfurt on March 12; extensive damage is caused to both aircraft, but no injuries are reported. Later in the year, a new technical complex is opened and routes are extended to Algiers and Riyadh.
Freight climbs 15.5% to 133.6 million FTKs and passenger bookings jump 12.1% to 1,640,969. For the 18-month period from January 1982 to June 1983, the carrier reports total revenues of $632.3 million, an operating loss of $12.7 million, and a net profit of $2 million.
The employee population is 6,672 in 1984. Service is inaugurated to Vienna and on April 12 the first A300C4-203 makes its maiden flight. Orders are placed for three B-767-269ERs as Boeing agrees to purchase the Airbus products ordered earlier as a way of gaining a marketing foothold in the region. Three A310-222s enter service, but are destined for Seattle.
En route from Kuwait to Karachi via Dubai on December 4, Flight 221, an A310-222 with 161 passengers, is captured just after its takeoff from the intermediate point by terrorists, who divert it to Tehran. While demanding the release of 17 prisoners held in Kuwait, the pirates release a third of the hostages, but kill an American passenger and throw his body out onto the runway.
The next day, the hijackers plant explosives around the Airbus and announce their intention to blow up the aircraft if demands are not met promptly. Thirty additional hostages are released, but another American is killed and his body, like that of the U. S. citizen murdered the day before, is thrown off the aircraft.
Although all but seven hostages are released, negotiations are stalemated for four more days. Late on December 8, the pirates ask that a generator be attached to the aircraft and that two cleaning persons be sent aboard to clean up the mess. Two brave Iranian security men, disguised as cleaners, come aboard the aircraft and capture the pirates.
Freight jumps 26.1% to 164.56 million FTKs, but passenger enplane-ments dip 2.4% to 1,497,340. On revenues of $419.9 million, a $735,000 net profit is reported—but so too is a $14.8- million operating loss.
The workforce dips 9.2% in 1985 to 6,670 as the first A300C4-203s join the fleet. Cost-reduction programs are instituted and service is suspended to Beirut, Baghdad, and Tehran. In May, three B-707-369Cs are sold to Southern Air Transport.
Considered security risks, all Lebanese citizens are barred from traveling on the airline as of July 27. The last B-707-369C is retired.
Passenger boardings drop 3.3% to 1,449,000 and cargo declines 3.3% to 159.13 million FTKs. The operating loss deepens to $35.4 million on total revenues of $450 million; the net profit drops to $599.
The payroll is cut again in 1986 to 6,127. Enplanements rise a slight 1.1% to 1,465,726; however, freight is up substantially, by 35.8% to 222.69 million FTKs. Revenues are off 1.6% to $500.19 million, but costs are also down by 1.6% to $499.64 million. As a result, operating profit improves to $544,000.
In January 1987, a code-sharing agreement is signed with Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Aereas de Espana, S. A.) covering flights between Kuwait and Madrid.
Enplanements through November are up 3.1% to 1,402,658. The full year’s losses total $26.7 million (operating) and $838,000 (net).
The small-nation’s flag carrier suffers a poor operational and fiscal 1988.
The most significant incident of the year is the hijacking of Flight 422, the B-747-269B Al Jaberiya with 112 passengers en route from Bangkok to Kuwait, on April 5. Pirates force it to land at Mashhad, Iran, where they demand the release of 17 people imprisoned in Kuwait for terrorist attacks against the U. S. and French embassies 5 years earlier. The demands are repeated the next day as 32 hostages are released. After a third day on the ground at Tehran, during which time the gunmen are provided additional arms and more terrorists come aboard, the aircraft departs for Beirut. There, however, the plane is denied permission to land, with Syrian troops blocking the approach roads to the airport and firing warning shots at the Jumbojet as it circles overhead. The odyssey continues on to Cyprus where, after an initial refusal, the Jum-bojet is allowed to land.
During a long stalemate with Cypriot officials at Larnaca over whether or not the Boeing will be refueled, the hijackers beat, shoot, and kill one of their hostages on April 9. They dump the victim’s body onto the runway, rejecting in the process a Cypriot offer to let them all leave Cyprus if the passengers are freed. The terrorists threaten to kill all of their hostages on April 10; however, PLO negotiators persuade them to hold off on their threat of a “massacre.” Impatient, the pirates murder a second hostage the next day and throw his body off the plane as well, halting negotiations.
On April 12, 12 hostages are freed. After PLO head Yasir Arafat is able to negotiate landing permission from Algeria, the Jumbojet takes off for that North African country, putting down at Houari Boumedienne Airport. The next day, Algerian officials begin intensive negotiations with the hijackers, visiting the aircraft on three occasions.
On April 14, one more hostage is released, reducing the number held to 31, and a doctor is allowed aboard to examine the captives, whom he pronounces to be in “fair” condition. Twenty-four hours later, two more hostages are released to deliver a plea for their captors’ main demand, the release of the Kuwaiti prisoners. When the pirates begin talking tough again on April 16, negotiations officially break down and stalemate sets in.
Unbeknown to either Kuwait or the media, which is providing intense coverage, talks continue behind the scenes, however, and on April 19 the hostages are released and the gunmen are granted safe passage to Syria, from whence they return to Beirut. Kuwait has given in and commuted the death sentences of 3 of the 17 persons they hold.
Almost unnoticed because of the hostage drama, pooled flights begin during the month with Gulf Air Company, G. S.C. between Kuwait and the other Gulf nations.
Passenger boardings for the year as a whole decline 0.8% to 1,485,750 and freight is off 4.3% to 234.21 million FTKs. Revenues also drop, by 5.8%, to $411.1 million. The operating loss almost doubles, to $51.1 million; however, a net gain of $11.6 million is generated.
Company employment is cut by 5.1% in 1989 to 5,339. In April, company officials undertake discussions with leaders from Egyptair, S. A.E., Iraqi Airways, and Royal Jordanian Airlines to consider the possibilities of forming an Air Afrique, S. A.-type airline consortium; the talks will lead nowhere.
Still, customer bookings move ahead by 5.3% to 1,640,556 and cargo rises 4.6% to 233.43 million FTKs.
In May 1990, plans are discussed with Egyptair, S. A.E. concerning the establishment of a joint charter subsidiary with which to begin non-scheduled services to Europe. On August 2, Kuwait is invaded by Iraq.
Occupation forces occupy the airline’s headquarters and seize 13 aircraft on the ground: 3 A300C4-620s, 5 A310-222s, 2 B-767-269ERs, 1 B-727-269A, and 2 BAe (HS) 125-700B bizjets; all are flown to Baghdad by Iraqi Airways crews. Two airline employees are killed and four taken hostage during the invasion, while two Gulfstream G-1159A Gulf-stream III bizjets are destroyed. One of the A300C4-620s had been wet-leased to Egyptair, S. A.E. and despite its adornment in the colors of the Cairo-based flag carrier, it, too, is transferred to Iraq.
On vacation in France, Chairman/CEO Ahmed Hamad Al-Mishari rushes to London and begins to establish what will later be called by those who have forgotten their World War II history “The first airline to operate in exile.” The first step is to quickly renegotiate all bilateral agreements that require Kuwait City to be flight origin or termination points.
In September, the Iraqis announce the dissolution of KAC, even as executives who have escaped set up a smuggling route in Saudi Arabia to funnel cash back across the border to besieged employees needing to purchase food. Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines) grants permission for KAC personnel to charge fuel on its account.
Just 80 days after the invasion, KAC begins scheduled exile operations from a temporary hub at Cairo on October 18 employing the four B-747-269BCs, three B-727-269As, and one B-767-269ER that were out of the country in August. Routes served include those to Jeddah, Bahrain, and Dubai. Meanwhile, the airline begins an extensive charter program of flying Allied troops into Saudi Arabia; in Operation Granby, it will concentrate on the airlift of British troops from Germany to the Gulf. Temporarily based in Bahrain, the Kuwaiti Fortune Promoseven agency undertakes a large advertising campaign, including extensive use of the Cable News Network, to thank the world for its support of the nation and the carrier. Scheduled service from Cairo to London, Bombay, and New York begins on November 6.
KAC flights from Cairo cease on January 16, 1991. Air raids on Baghdad, carried out as part of Operation Desert Storm on February 15, bring about the destruction on the ground of two B-767-269ERs and one each BAe (HS) 125-700B and A300C4-620 taken to the Iraqi capital. The remainder of the captive jetliners are flown by Iraqi Airways crews to Iran, where Iran Air maintains them at Tehran. On February 26, the company obtains a judgment in the High Court of London against Iraqi Airways involving the 15 stolen aircraft; the London law firm of Clyde & Co. wins the $489,455,380 assessment.
Following the successful February 26 removal of Iraq from Kuwait via Operation Desert Storm, Chairman Al-Mishari is aboard the first KAC aircraft, a B-727-269A, to return to Kuwait Airport, on March 7. There is much damage at that location: ATC has been knocked out; the control towers are damaged and partially stripped of equipment; there is no fuel; the terminal buildings are wrecked; ground equipment is missing; the office building is heavily damaged as is the computer center, from which the mainframe computer has been removed; and the flight kitchen is out of order.
initially to USMC-supplied ATC, a full schedule comes into effect on April 2 with Kuwait employing its temporary hub at Bahrain to link Mideast destinations with its prewar international services to Cairo, New York, London, Frankfurt, Rome, and Bombay. Bahrain will remain the temporary company hub until airport facilities can be rebuilt in Kuwait.
Airline officials report that the war’s impact upon KAC has resulted in a minimum of $1.2 billion in losses. All of the aircraft taken by Iraq, except for six Airbuses interned in Iran, are destroyed by the Allied offensive; insurance provides $392 million for the lost aircraft and $300 for the six planes, which is applied to their reacquisition from Iran. During the spring, the carrier signs a support contract with British Airways, Ltd. (2) , under terms of which the U. K. giant will provide marketing, training, flight, ground operations, and security support and training.
Simultaneously, Kuwait orders three B-747-469Cs and four A340-300s and is cohosted on the Aer Lingus Irish Airlines, Ltd. Astral reservations system. New tickets are printed to replace those stolen by the Iraqi invading forces and free transportation is offered to enable those Kuwaitis who fled the country after the invasion to return. In addition, charter flights to Colombo and Seoul are laid on to bring back some of the foreign laborers who departed during the occupation. A Jumbojet is leased to Garuda Indonesia in October.
The carrier continues rebuilding in 1992 as Alexandria and Lahore are added to the route network. On April 1, plans are announced for the creation, with Egyptair, S. A.E., of a fifty-fifty joint venture cargo and charter subsidiary, Shorouk Air, to be based at Cairo with a tentative start-up date of September.
Following lengthy negotiations, Iran, in June, returns five A310-222s stolen by Iraq and flown into Iranian internment during the previous year’s military operations. The A300C4-620 painted in Egyptair, S. A.E. livery follows in September. All are traded in to Airbus Industrie as partial payment for the new A340s.
During the summer, two Lockheed L-1011s and a DC-10-30 are wet-leased from British Airways to help increase summer capacity. Markets now also served include Amsterdam, Athens, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Bangkok, Bombay, Cairo, Colombo, Dhaka, Damascus, Delhi, Dhahran, Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Istanbul, Jeddah, Karachi, Larnaca, London (LHR), Luxor, Madrid, Manila, Muscat, Paris, Riyadh, Rome, and Tehran.
Shorouk Air is inaugurated on schedule and the main 43,050-sq.-ft. hangar is rebuilt at Kuwait City by year’s end. Enplanements for the year are 553,450 and a $30-million net profit is generated.
In 1993, Chairman al-Mishari and Director General Ahmad al-Zabin oversee a workforce of 4,420 and a fleet of 4 B-747-269Cs, 3 each A300C4-620s, A310-308s, A320-212s, B-727-269As, 2 B-707-327Cs chartered from the Egyptian carrier Transmed Airlines, Ltd., 1 B-707-331C leased from the same source, and 1 B-767-269ER. Two A320-212s are operated on the Shorouk Air joint venture with Egyptair, S. A.E. The airline’s color scheme is slightly altered and new routes are inaugurated to Aleppo, Beirut, Jakarta, Shiraz, and Singapore.
During the third quarter, the company acquires a 20% interest in the new Indian domestic airline Jet Airways, Ltd. At the same time, scheduled service is inaugurated from Kuwait City to Singapore and Jakarta. When the U. S. lifts its ban on Syria in December, Kuwait, as payback for Syrian support during the Gulf War, pledges to give Damascus its B-727-269A fleet.
Passenger boardings ascend 11.2% to 559,712 and freight swells 21.3% to 106.69 million FTKs. The net gain slides to $18 million.
During the first quarter of 1994, the B-707-331C is returned to Transmed Airlines, Ltd. and all three B-727-269As are transferred to Syrianair. Following the outbreak of pneumonic plague at Surat, India, in mid-September, the airline suspends flights to India. These are not resumed until early October. The four company employees seized by Iraqi forces on August 2, 1990 remain prisoners and are remembered by yellow ribbons painted on every Kuwaiti airliner. Plans are made for the inauguration of service to Copenhagen, Chicago, and Trivandrum during the new year, along with the entry into service of the new A340-313s.
Enplanements through August total 1,242,952 and the last of 4 new A300B4-605Rs is received.
Airline employment stands at 5,000 in 1995 and beginning in March, four A340-313s are delivered. The premier units begin flying company roundtrip routes from Kuwait City to New York via Frankfurt and London, and from Kuwait City to Manila via Bombay and Bangkok.
During the spring, Polynesian Airlines, Ltd. replaces its Air Canada, Ltd. Boeing with a B-767-269 chartered from KAC. Part of the cost and a shared route are born by Royal Tongan Airlines, Ltd., and, as a result, the aircraft also wears that company’s markings as well.
In June, the month in which the final A340-313 arrives, Cyprus Airways, Ltd. enters into a block-space agreement covering KAC flights between Kuwait and Larnaca. Air India, Ltd. in November begins joint service aboard KAC jetliners flying between Kuwait and Trivandrum. The two carriers also begin cooperating on each other’s thrice-weekly frequencies from Kuwait to Madras.
With the second pair of A340-313s in hand, the carrier, on July 1, launches twice-weekly roundtrips from Kuwait City to Chicago via Amsterdam. Later in the month, two B-747-269Bs are sold to American International Airways.
Traffic figures are again reported through August and show passenger boardings up 4% to 1,294,741. Cargo is also up, by 19.5%, to 221.36 million FTKs. Flights are also started to Copenhagen and Trivandrum during the fall.
The workforce is cut 4.8% in 1996 to 4,760. Service is initiated in April to Nairobi and Johannesburg. Full year figures reveal customer bookings of 2,130,039.
There is no change in the employee population during 1997. Destinations visited now include Abu Dhabi, Alexandria, Amsterdam, Athens, Bahrain, Bangkok, Bombay, Cairo, Colombo, Dakar, Damascus, New Delhi, Dubai, Istanbul, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Karachi, London, Madrid, Manila, Munich, Nairobi, New York, Paris, Rome, Singapore, and Tehran.
The third near miss over India in two weeks occurs n January 11. An Air Lanka, Ltd. A320-211, on approach to Bombay from Trivandrum, is mistakenly authorized by an air traffic controller to land at that city’s airport at the same time he has granted permission to land to a Kuwaiti B-747-269BC; a collision is avoided by several hundred feet.
Traffic figures are available only for the first two months of the year. These show enplanements down 0.5% to 332,096, while freight inches up 0.8% to 119.4 million FTKs.
The first scheduled flight in seven years is inaugurated on July 9 between Kuwait City and Amman, Jordan; this resumed service is fully booked within an hour of its initial announcement.
In March 1998, KAC signs a $282-million syndicated loan accord with a Gulf Arab consortium led by the National Bank of Kuwait to finance the purchase of the two new B-777s. The carrier’s first B-777-269 IGW is delivered on April 1.
A new 14-million dinar headquarters is opened in May and the second B-777-269 IGW arrives in early June.
Some 50 minutes into a flight from Kuwait City to Jidda on June 24, an A310-308, with 253 passengers, receives a bomb threat, relayed from the national airport. The aircraft returns to the capital where it is searched. No bombs are found, no injuries are reported, no claims of responsibility are made.
In an interview with Reuters, Ltd. on June 28, Chairman al-Meshari reveals that Kuwait plans to begin, within months, the phased privatization of KAC, which now has some $2 billion in net assets and $880 million in debt. The announcement is based on the Kuwait cabinet’s June 21 approval of a draft law transforming KAC into a shareholder company, a law that is sent to Parliament for approval.
A strategic marketing agreement is signed with Trans World Airlines (TWA) on December 16. Under its terms, the two will, during the upcoming spring, link their frequent flyer programs. Additionally, KAC will place its “KU” code on TWA services to New York (JFK) from Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington, D. C. (DCA).
Enplanements during the 12 months total 1.57 million, while 241.1 million FTKs are operated.
Airline employment at the beginning of 1999 stands at 4,760.
While on approach to London (LHR) from Kuwait on February 10, the crew of an MD-83, being operated for the government, is forced to extend the plane’s landing gear manually. Although the gear doors strike runway lights during the landing, the aircraft remains under control until coming to a stop. No injuries are reported.
The British House of Lords on March 15, rules that the airline is entitled to recover $150 million (plus nine-years interest on same) from war risk insurers for losses taken during the August 1990 Kuwait invasion. Kuwait has already received over $300 million in insurance payments.
Officials from KAC meet with their counterparts from Emirates Airlines, Gulf Air Company G. S.C., Oman Airways, Qatar Airways, and Saudi Arabian Airlines at Kuwait City on May 15 to plan a united body to compete against the growing number of major world airline alliances. The CEOs, who also agree to meet quarterly, discuss ways to coordinate and develop additional revenues, cut expenses, and invest jointly in support services.
Revenues total $640.25 million, but expenses are $880.77 million. The operating loss totals $240.51 million.
On June 1,2000, the code-sharing agreement with Trans World Airlines is expanded to cover services from Kuwait to Frankfurt and Amsterdam, from Amsterdam to New York (JFK), and from Frankfurt to New York (JFK) and Chicago (ORD).
A dual-designator pact is signed with Philippine Airlines on June 28 covering services between Manila and Bangkok.
Flight 165, an A300-605R departing Kuwait International Airport on a service to Paris (CDG) via Rome on November 13 aborts its takeoff after bursting several tires. As the airport’s other runway is under repair, the accident causes the airport to be shut down for several hours while the Airbus is moved.
World History
