Summary
- Two US airports were to see the Airbus A330-800 this winter but now won’t.
- Kuwait Airways has cut Washington Dulles before it began and reverted to the 777 to Latest York JFK.
- The shift to the 777 means JFK has 6,000 more monthly seats on the market.
No US airport may have any flights by the Airbus A330-800neo (hereafter the A330-800) this winter, resulting from Kuwait Airways’ changes. As Washington Dulles and Latest York JFK would have been the A330-800’s two longest routes globally, the highly unpopular type’s average sector length across all carriers will now be just 2,047 miles (2,294 km) this winter. It’s down by a couple of third versus what was previously planned.
Kuwait Airways cuts Washington Dulles
In mid-August, Kuwait Airways announced the launch of Washington Dulles, 6,565 miles (10,581 km) from Kuwait, despite not being a Star Alliance carrier. Expected to have began in December, it could have been the carrier’s second US destination.
It might have been the primary time in seven years that the airport pair had non-stop flights, following United’s exit in 2016. For that carrier, the route revolved around US government business.
No wonder a source near the airline told me that pulling Dulles is After all, it raises questions on why it was announced in the primary place, perhaps explained by the relatively recent CEO and recent management.
JFK reverts to the 777-300ER
Kuwait Airways switched the 777 for the A330-800 in March 2023. It meant available seats per flight fell from 334 to only 235, a drop of nearly a 3rd. Given its day by day service, around 6,000 fewer seats might have been sold monthly. While obviously good for pricing and seat load aspects, especially within the low season, it was a major drop.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Easy Flying
From October twenty ninth, the day airlines within the Northern Hemisphere switch to winter schedules, JFK will again see the 777-300ER, meaning top notch returns.
KU117 will leave Kuwait at 09:25 and arrive at JFK at 15:45 local. Returning, KU118 will depart at 18:00 and arrive back at 13:00 the subsequent day. I previously showed that JFK is the world’s eighth-busiest airport for 777 flights (of all passenger variants) in October.
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