Jazeera Airways aiming to acquire another airline

Jazeera Airways Chairman, Marwan Boodai, stated the carrier is considering plans to acquire another airline, rather than launching a second hub, to expand its network to 82 routes over the next five years (Zawya/Dow Jones, 25-Dec-2009). Mr Boodai added the carrier may require to raise capital to fund an acquisition.

Jazeera Airways: "We are on the look now for acquisitions rather than opening another hub. We are talking to more than one company at this stage and we feel the time is good in 2010 to close at least one deal. We only sustained a loss in the first six months of this year due to the unforeseen changes of regulation in the UAE. We have regrouped and shifted our focus on Kuwait. We have learned our lesson that in the region it is difficult to operate as a second hub. Higher oil prices are positive for the economies in our region. We do short term hedging of oil for two months of advance to cover the majority of our sales," Marwan Boodai, Chairman. Source: Zawya/Dow Jones, 25-Dec-2009.