Kuwait Airways in compensation talks with Airbus over delivery delays

DUBAI (Reuters) - Kuwait Airways expects compensation from planemaker Airbus for delays in delivering commercial jets, the chairman of the Middle Eastern airline told Reuters on Tuesday.

Aerospace and other manufacturers are struggling with supply chain bottlenecks. This year, pressure has been growing on planemakers to start paying penalties.

"We are discussing it with them. There will be some compensation from Airbus themselves, they have to because we are affected," Abdulmohsen Salem Alfagaan said in an interview at the Dubai Airshow.

Alfagaan said delivery delays had forced the airline to adjust its network and reschedule flights, without specifying the length of delay or aircraft type.

An Airbus spokesperson said conversations with customers were confidential.

State-owned Kuwait Airways currently has orders for seven Airbus A330-900 and two A350-900 wide-body jets, as well as nine A321neo and one A320neo narrow-bodies, according to Airbus data.

Kuwait Airways' current business plan envisages profitability this decade, Alfagaan said, adding it was unlikely to place a new aircraft order for three to four years.

The airline is reducing frequencies on certain routes in the Middle East and Turkey due to a drop in demand for some destinations by as much as 50% as a result of the Israel-Hamas war, Alfagaan said.

Travellers have cancelled bookings to the region amid fears the war could spark a regional conflict.

"People are reluctant to travel at the moment, but we are doing very well in the East and on European flights," Alfagaan said, adding European routes were on average close to sold out and overall the airline was filling an average of 70-80% of seats.

About 60% of the airline's passengers are starting or ending their journey in Kuwait, while the remaining 40% are using Kuwait for connecting flights, he said.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Mark Potter)