Wataniya Airways add new routes to Rome and Alexandria

The new service to Rome will strengthen the airline into the European market connecting Kuwaitis to Rome and the rest of the Italian cities from Wataniya Airways’ exclusive Sheikh Saad Terminal to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Fiumiciano Airport three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Rome is Wataniya Airways’ eleventh destination and its second European city after the premium carrier’s earlier announcement of launching Istanbul from the beginning of May.

The airline will go head-to-head with Kuwait Airways which currently operates a code share with Alitalia.

Abdulsalam Al Bahar, Chairman and Managing Director of Wataniya Airways said: “We have chosen Rome to be our second European destination and we are delighted to provide our guests with a new travel option allowing them to live the Wataniya Airways experience when they travel to one of the most attractive and most popular cities in the world. Kuwaitis have always had a distinctive high taste when they travel, and with what Rome has to offer with its history and rich Italian culture, we’re confident it will be an excellent choice for their travel this summer season and we look forward to welcoming our guests on board Wataniya’s class leading fleet.”

He added, “Rome is also extremely well connected to other European destinations, giving our guests ready access to all the main European cultural and business centers. The launch of our new service brings many benefits for both Kuwait and Italy and will serve to strengthen our long standing trade and tourism links.”

Flights are timed to depart Sheikh Saad Terminal at 09:05 and arrive in Rome at 13:35. The airline will commence its services to Alexandria, selected as the Capital of Arab Tourism for 2010, from June 1st. The new schedule will provide four flights a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, from the Wataniya Airways Sheikh Saad Terminal to Alexandria’s Borg El Arab airport.

Al Bahar said: “Alexandria is a historic center and a destination for culture known for its wealth of arts, cultural diversity and its historic civilizations. We believe the launch of our new service brings many benefits for both Kuwait and Egypt and will continue to strengthen our long standing trade and tourism links. Alexandria is our third destination in Egypt after Cairo and Sharm ElSheikh and it’s a city that continues to attract an increasing number of visitors from Kuwait and the region throughout the year, and we are happy to offer our guests a premium service option to travel to the Mediterranean city.”

Al Bahar added that Wataniya Airways made a decision to operate its flights to the new state of the art Borg El Arab Airport in Alexandria after numerous reports of the closing of the old Al Nozha Airport at any given time, “we wanted to deliver a consistent premium travel experience and believe that Borg El Arab airport allows us to do that. The decision to fly to Borg El Arab was made to avoid any future disruption of our guests travel plans.”

Services are timed to arrive in Alexandria at 10.30am local time.

Wataniya Airways currently runs five class-leading Airbus A320 aircraft and a sixth aircraft is scheduled to be received in June.