DUBAI: In a move aimed at helping to boost Kuwait Airways, sources close to the company said the Kuwaiti national carrier is looking to purchase some 25 new Airbus aircrafts to replace the aging ones already in the air. Airbus SAS is close to sealing a purchase agreement from Kuwait Airways Co. for 25 aircraft in a deal valued at $4.4 billion based on list price, according to two people familiar with the matter. The state-owned airline may sign the agreement as early as this month to purchase 10 Airbus A350-900s and 15 single-aisle A320neos, with deliveries starting in 2019, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the decision hasn't been finalized. Airbus won 616 orders by the end of April for the A350 series, which begins service before the end of 2014 and is designed to challenge Boeing Co.'s 787 and 777 widebody models. Boeing has begun marketing a successor to its 777, the 777X, though it hasn't yet sought board approval to build the plane. “The A350XWB is doing extremely well in Airbus's core twin-aisle market, the Mideast," said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of the Teal Group, a Fairfax, Virginia based forecaster, referring to the extra wide body version of the plane. Kuwia An Airbus spokeswoman said the manufacturer doesn't comment on discussions with potential customers. Kuwait-based Al-Watan reported the plan to buy Airbus planes earlier today, without saying where it got the information. Of the 616 A350 orders in the Airbus backlog, 414 are for the A350-900 model, 92 for the smaller A350-800 and 110 for the A350-1000.
