The new services to Amritsar, Chennai and Jaipur, will boost the SIA Group’s international network into India to 15 destinations, served by its mainline business, regional operation SilkAir, low-cost brand Tiger Airways and now its medium- and long-haul, low-cost unit, Scoot.
The arrival of the first A330-200 marks the latest stage of a fleet-renewal programme which will eventually include the arrival of new A350s and Boeing 777-300ERs. In February 2014, Kuwait Airways announced the lease of 12 Airbus aircraft including seven A320ceo (with first deliveries commencing late last year) and five A330-200s in addition to the purchase of 25 aircraft including 10 A350-900 and 15 A320neo Family aircraft.
The new flight between its Luxembourg base and the Indian city of Chennai, via Muscat International Airport, will operate from April 15, 2015 and is likely to be the start of an expected rapid growth in the Sultanate.
Its latest growth for the first quarter of 2015 will see another three destinations added to its route map, further expanding the carrier’s footprint to 89 destinations in 46 countries. These comprise flights to Hargeisa (Somaliland), Chennai (India), and Nejran (Saudi Arabia).