Jazeera Airways will consider opening a new base outside its home in Kuwait if it finds the right opportunity, as the airline remains bullish on growth despite geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The low-cost airline is focused on developing new direct routes from Kuwait to capitalise on strong demand and diversifying travel segments to capture more leisure and religious traffic, Jazeera Airways' new chief executive Barathan Pasupathi told The National.
"For the foreseeable next 12 to 18 months, we are going to be very focused on Kuwait. But if and when a hub opportunity comes along that is attractive for Jazeera and the wider growth of our network, we will not be hesitant to look into it," Mr Pasupathi said.
Jazeera Airways, which in March last year announced plans to start a low-cost airline in Saudi Arabia to be based at the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, has placed a bid for the licence and is optimistic about its chances.
"We went through all the steps of a tendering process and completed the due diligence to establish a hub in Dammam, twice. We are still awaiting an official announcement," Mr Pasupathi said.
"We do believe we have the best credentials and have submitted the best plan but this is a tendering process so it can go either way."
Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation did not respond to a request by The National for comment on the status of the bidding process.
Jazeera Airways projected a "strong" outlook for 2024, depending on geopolitical developments in the region, after reporting a 37.3 per cent increase in second-quarter net profit to reach 5.4 million Kuwaiti dinars ($17.6 million).
Group operating revenue increased 6.2 per cent year on year to 52.6 million dinars during the three-month period, driven by strong demand for summer and Hajj travel. Passenger traffic soared by 6.5 per cent to 1.1 million.
Load factor, a measure of how efficiently an airline fills available seats, was 74 per cent during the period.
New routes
Mr Pasupathi, who was appointed chief executive in late March, said his focus will be on maintaining the airline's growth and reducing unit costs by bringing in-house some capabilities such as maintenance and ground-handling work.
The airline is striving to lower its unit costs by improving aircraft use and reassessing the seat density on the Airbus A321 Neos entering its fleet by 2026, he said.
Jazeera Airways will make an announcement by the fourth quarter of this year on this "strategic shift to transform its cost base", he said.
"There is an inflationary environment and as an airline we really need to manage our costs to keep fares affordable and accessible to customers, so Jazeera will be embarking on certain strategic shifts," Mr Pasupathi said, without providing details.
As it develops new direct routes to and from Kuwait, Jazeera Airways is considering the lucrative markets of south-eastern Europe that are "affordable and attractive", he said.
In the second quarter, Jazeera Airways introduced two new direct routes to Krakow, Poland, and Batumi, Georgia, from Kuwait.
The airline also sees new opportunities in travel markets where Kuwait is renegotiating bilateral air service agreements, Mr Pasupathi said. If successful, these enhanced agreements could allow Jazeera access to second-tier cities in India, for example.
Airbus A321 Neo 'game-changer'
Jazeera Airways, which signed a deal to buy 28 Airbus narrow-body aircraft at the Dubai Airshow in November 2021, has taken delivery of two jets and expects the remaining ones to come on time in 2026. The deal was for 20 A320 Neos and eight A321 Neos.
To operate the new aircraft and keep pace with the increase in growth, the airline expects to expand its workforce to about 2,000 to 3,000 employees, up from1,600 people currently, the chief executive said.
Jazeera Airways also expects to reach a decision on an engine order for these aircraft by the end of this year, he added.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 20: 11am to 7pm - Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival and Para jiu-jitsu.
Sunday, April 21: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (female) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Monday, April 22: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (male) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Tuesday, April 23: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Wednesday, April 24: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Thursday, April 25: 11am-5pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Friday, April 26: 3pm to 6pm Finals of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Saturday, April 27: 4pm and 8pm awards ceremony.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
Arabian Gulf League fixtures:
Friday:
- Emirates v Hatta, 5.15pm
- Al Wahda v Al Dhafra, 5.25pm
- Al Ain v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, 8.15pm
Saturday:
- Dibba v Ajman, 5.15pm
- Sharjah v Al Wasl, 5.20pm
- Al Jazira v Al Nasr, 8.15pm
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
