Kuwait Airways (KU, Kuwait) is planning to acquire ten B777 Family aircraft from Boeing (BOE, Washington National) as part of its fleet renewal and expansion programme. According to insider sources who spoke to the Kuwait Times on condition of anonymity, the airline's board of directors has already issued a directive for the purchase and is now in early talks with the Americans.

Interestingly, Boeing last week listed a new order for ten B777-300(ER)s from an unidentified customer.

Last year, Boeing dispatched a sales team to the Middle East to convince the Kuwaitis to consider their products when it emerged they were about to sign a USD3billion deal with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac).

Following a parliamentary inquest into the deal and in the wake of much board-room upheaval at the order's make up, Kuwait Airways eventually committed to twenty-five aircraft from Airbus including ten A350-900s and fifteen A320neo.

At present, the Kuwaiti national carrier's passenger fleet is made up of five A300-600s, three A310-300s, four A320-200s, four A340-300s, one B747-400(M) and two B777-200(ER)s.