Kuwait Airways cabin crew after six years: the quiet Gulf carrier, the new fleet, the pay and housing for foreign crew and how it compares to the big three
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#1 Kuwait Airways, six years, Kuwaiti, and the small Gulf carrier threads on here cover Gulf Air, Oman Air, Saudia, flynas and Air Arabia. Kuwait Airways gets a mention in one thread title. Here it is from inside.
The airline
The Kuwaiti national carrier, Kuwait City based, with a fleet that has been renewed in recent years: A330neos, A320neos, 777s, and the A350s arriving. A network to the Middle East, South Asia, Europe (London, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, Geneva, Munich), the US (New York) and Southeast Asia. Smaller than the big three, bigger than Gulf Air, and quieter than any of them in the sense that nobody talks about it.
Recruitment
Kuwaiti nationals and foreign crew, with events in the source countries (India, the Philippines, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Eastern Europe) and online. Requirements similar to the big three: 21 minimum, the reach, English, no visible tattoos, hospitality preferred. The events are smaller and the process is slower and more personal than the Emirates machine.
Pay and housing for foreign crew
A basic in Kuwaiti dinars (a strong currency), flying pay per hour, layover allowances, and accommodation provided for foreign crew in company housing in Kuwait City with the rules the Gulf threads describe. Tax free. The net is below the big three's on the basic and comparable on a good month with the long haul allowances, and the dinar's strength helps the crew who send money home. The housing is older than the Dubai buildings and the rules are similar.
The flying
A mix of Gulf and South Asia turnarounds, the Europe long haul with real layovers (the London and Paris trips are the prize), the New York on the 777, and the Southeast Asia. The rosters are lighter than the big three's because the fleet is smaller; the crew have more days off and fewer sectors. Some crew love that. Some find it slow.
Kuwait as a city
Quieter than Dubai, more conservative than Dubai, no alcohol at all, a small expat social scene centred on the compounds and the malls and the sea, and a summer that is the hottest in the Gulf. The foreign crew who are happy here are the ones who wanted a calm, saving focused few years without the Dubai noise. The ones who wanted Dubai leave.
Versus the big three
Less money at the top end, more days off, a slower operation, an older housing stock, a quieter city, a more personal airline where the cabin managers know you within months. A good fit for the crew who want the Gulf salary without the Gulf pace. Not a fit for the crew who want the world in a month.
For applicants
Apply alongside the big three. If Kuwait Airways comes first and the quiet suits you, take it: the flying is real, the dinar is strong, and the London layover is the same London. If the pace and the city are the point, wait for the others.
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#2 Gulf Air Bahrain, and Omar's Kuwait Airways is Gulf Air's cousin: the small national carrier, the personal airline, the strong currency, the quiet city. The two smallest Gulf carriers have the same shape and the same crew type.
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#3 Qatar, and the Tunisian crew at Kuwait Airways describe exactly this: calm, saving, the dinar, the London trips. And the summer, which they describe with a specific horror.
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#4 Riyadh Air, and the new Saudi carriers have taken some Kuwait Airways crew who wanted the building rather than the quiet. Both are valid. The small Gulf carriers are the calm option and there are three of them now.
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#5 Karachi, applying, and Kuwait Airways was not on my list because nobody talks about it. That is apparently the point. Adding it.
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#6 Emirates from Lahore, and Air Arabia to Emirates was my path. Kuwait Airways is the other small carrier the Pakistani applicants use as the first Gulf job, and the dinar makes the money home better than Sharjah's dirhams. Fair thread.
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#7 Qatar purser, and 'the Gulf salary without the Gulf pace' is a real category and Kuwait, Bahrain and Muscat are it. Some of the best crew I know did five years at one of them and never wanted Doha.
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#8 EgyptAir, staying, and Kuwait Airways is where two of my batch went because the Cairo commute is short and the city is calm. Both are still there. The quiet suits them.
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#9 @ibrahimcai the Egyptian crew are a large part of the airline and the Cairo route is daily. The commute is the same as the Doha threads describe. The quiet is ours.