Jazeera Airways Announces First Route To China

Kuwait's low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways has announced its first route to China with the launch of direct flights to Xian. For its first destination in China, Jazeera Airways was wise to choose Xian as it is the third largest city in Western China with a population of over 12 million people and the most popular city in Northwestern China.

The Chinese city is categorized as a second-tier city and was the starting point of the historic Silk Road, while it also houses the globally famous Terracotta Army. Jazeera Airways' inaugural flight is scheduled to commence on September 19th, and the flight will include a technical stop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for refueling.

From Kuwait to China

Jazeera Airways will begin with an initial flight schedule of a flight every fortnight before upgrading to a weekly service soon. The budget carrier will use its more fuel-efficient Airbus A320neo fleet of aircraft, with a seating capacity of 156 passengers.

Flight number	Departure time	Arrival time	Frequency
J9 621 (KWI - FRU)	06:20	13:05	Mondays
J9 621 (FRU - XIY)	13:50	20:30
J9 622 (XIY - FRU)	22:30	02:05 +1
J9 622 (FRU - KWI)	02:50 +1	04:10 +1	Tuesdays

Celebrating the launch of its first destination in China was Jazeera Airways Chief Executive Officer Rohit Ramachandran, who said:

“This a real milestone for Jazeera to fly all the way to the People’s Republic of China. Commercial ties between Kuwait and China have been growing, and we see a positive outlook for developing our network further into the region."

Jazeera Airways currently houses nine Airbus A320neos, alongside eight Airbus A320s. Photo: Anna Zvereva via Wikimedia Commons

Further network expansions

The expansion into China comes shortly after the Kuwaiti low-cost carrier upgraded to daily frequencies for flights to Gautam Buddha International Airport, the second international hub in Nepal. Before September 16th, Jazeera Airways was flying on a thrice-weekly schedule and operated more than 100 flights between the two countries since the inauguration of the Nepalese airport.

Flight number	Departure time	Arrival time	Frequency
J9 545 (KWI - BWA)	22:45	06:00 +1	Daily
J9 546 (BWA - KWI)	06:45	09:25	Daily

With a total of 6,587 passengers having arrived at Bhairahawa Airport from Kuwait, while another 7,240 passengers left Bhairahawa for Kuwait in the last four months, it's obvious why the budget carrier opted to quickly upgrade to daily flight services. Using its Airbus A320neo, Jazeera Airways currently offers approximately 1,092 seats to Bhairahawa weekly.

Jazeera Airways also recently added a Saudi route last month, further highlighting the airline's expansion. Photo: Anna Zvereva via Wikimedia Commons

Looking towards a profitable year

Jazeera Airways has already seen net profits for the first half of this year as efforts from its earlier expansions to cater to the summer demand paid off. The launch of its flight services to Xian further highlights how adaptable the low-cost carrier has been in exploring new market dynamics to further its progressive growth.

And within the remainder of this year, Jazeera Airways has made its intentions clear for continuing to grow its number of destinations offered. The airline will also continue growing its fleet to support its network expansion, with two new Airbus A320s, registered as 9K-CBJ and 9K-CBK, scheduled to arrive in its fleet soon when leased from CDB Aviation.