No Airline Will Fly The Rare Airbus A330-800 To The United States This Winter

No US airport will have any flights by the Airbus A330-800neo (hereafter the A330-800) this winter, resulting from Kuwait Airways’ changes. As Washington Dulles and New 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 is down by about a 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 started in December, it would have been the carrier’s second US destination.

It would have been the first 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.

Premised on being Kuwait Airways’ largest unserved market in North America, along with capturing demand to/from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, the carrier planned three weekly A330-800 flights.

It may not have been economic

From what I can tell, Kuwait Airways does not have crew rest areas on its four A330-800s, so some business class seats would seemingly have been used for the crew. This would have reduced sellable capacity and the economic viability of the long route.

If it had operated year-round, its 08:00 departure time from the Middle East airport – when it is exceptionally hot during the summer – would probably have resulted in a payload restriction even for the long-range equipment. This would have further reduced the economic performance of the route.

No wonder a source close to the airline told me that pulling Dulles is “the right move.” Of course, it raises questions about why it was announced in the first place, perhaps explained by the relatively new CEO and new 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 just 235, a drop of nearly a third. Given its daily service, around 6,000 fewer seats could have been sold monthly. While obviously good for pricing and seat load factors, especially in the low season, it was a significant drop.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

From October 29th, the day airlines in the Northern Hemisphere switch to winter schedules, JFK will again see the 777-300ER, meaning first class 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 next day. I previously showed that JFK is the world’s eighth-busiest airport for 777 flights (of all passenger variants) in October.

What do you make of it all? Let us know in the comments.

Sources of information: OAG, Cirium, the airline’s website, Flightradar.com, Google Flights, ch-aviation.com