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Rasha A. Al-Roumi

KUWAIT - Transport

Flying High Again

Chairperson & Managing Director, Kuwait Airways

Bio

Rasha Abdulaziz Al-Roumi was appointed Chairperson and Managing Director of Kuwait Airways (KAC) in December 2013. She has been responsible for launching the transformation of Kuwait Airways, re-establishing the airline as a leader in regional aviation and beyond. Rasha Abdulaziz Al-Roumi’s successes include ordering an entirely new fleet of aircraft and securing an agreement with key partners to build a new terminal at Kuwait Airport. Her impressive 30-year aviation track record garnered the Business Woman of the Year 2014 designation from the Arabian Business Magazine. She holds a Bachelor’s in Insurance and Statistics from Kuwait University.

TBY talks to Rasha A. Al-Roumi, Chairperson & Managing Director of Kuwait Airways, on the process of rebuilding the airline, streamlining labor, and the importance of a flagship airline.

How has the rapid development of the aviation sector regionally impacted Kuwait Airways, as one of the first local airlines established in the Gulf?

Kuwait Airways was established in 1956 as a private company, and has since become a fully government-owned company. The Iraqi invasion destroyed the airline’s infrastructure, as the aircraft and hangars were all either abandoned or destroyed. We had to rebuild everything and start from scratch, and the airline’s rebirth became a source of pride for Kuwait. Looking back at the history of the region, oil became the defining commodity in the GCC countries, and with the oil boom came a focus on new strategies by those GCC countries, very much around leisure and also aviation, which is a key platform in places like Qatar. This all happened at the expense of Kuwait Airways. However, Kuwait Airways has always remained the favored and preferred airline of the Kuwaiti people.

What has been your strategy to bring Kuwait Airways back to the leading market position it once held in Kuwait?

When I became chairperson and managing director, my first priority was to sign contracts for new aircraft with either Airbus or Boeing. In line with that strategy, we are in the process of receiving 25 new aircraft from Airbus, ten of them wide body and 15 of them narrow body, in addition to 12 leased aircraft. We also purchased 10 Boeing 777 aircraft. This was essential for us to be able to regain a share in what has become a competitive airline market in the GCC and beyond. The Kuwaiti people fly all over the world, and we wanted to reclaim our place as their airline of choice so that they would prefer us to the likes of Qatar Airways, Emirates, or Etihad. We introduced our new fleet far faster than most airlines could, ensuring that customer experience is consistently outstanding. Our other priority was to achieve a financial transformation of the company so that it could be self-sufficient.

How were you able to streamline the workforce and ensure that your employees were also an efficient part of the company’s transformation?

According to the Kuwaiti privatization law, people can opt for either redundancy or early retirement. Some people were also transferred to government services. We ensured that the company was efficient from a company perspective, while at the same time recognizing the loyalty and service of people who had in many cases worked here for 15 years or longer. Nevertheless, we are still over-staffed, so the process of streamlining continues. One thing we take great pride in is that Kuwait Airways is truly a Kuwaiti company, in that it is run, managed, operated, maintained, and staffed by Kuwaitis, which distinguishes us significantly from other airlines in the region, including Qatar, Etihad, or Emirates.

What do you expect will be the most important factor in making Kuwait Airways a top airline in the Gulf region?

The airport is the most important factor. It does not matter how many aircraft you have if you do not have the facilities to operate them and cater to the increased flows. Kuwait has much more competition, partially due to the fact that people see Kuwait as being a more attractive market in itself. Qatar and Emirates are about providing connectivity, but it is a different situation in Kuwait. Carriers come to Kuwait to take the business of Kuwait.

As the national flagship carrier of Kuwait, what vision you would like to see achieved at Kuwait Airways moving forward?

The world first gets to know about your country through your airline, so it is an important part of any country’s economy. We want to become a boutique airline that is growing healthily, serving Kuwaitis and those who live in Kuwait. We want to provide a service that gets them where they want to go at the frequencies and with the quality of service that they desire, and we want them to prefer us simply for the pleasure of flying Kuwait Airways.

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