Deferring jet orders over Iran war would be costly for Middle Eastern carriers, IATA VP says

By Allison Lampert and Gabriel Araujo

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 6 (Reuters) - Deferring jet orders due to uncertainty and higher jet fuel prices caused by the war in Iran would be unwise for Middle Eastern carriers, as the decision could be costly in the long term, a vice president of the airline trade group IATA said on Saturday. 

Kamil Al-Awadhi, regional VP for Africa and the Middle East, told reporters that he does not expect the war and higher costs to affect aircraft orders from Middle Eastern carriers. The region's airlines are major buyers of jets from planemakers Boeing and Airbus. 

Deferrals are "not wise because that deferral will cost you," he said, citing long waiting times for aircraft. He made the remarks on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual summit this weekend in Rio de Janeiro. 

Given the waiting time for Airbus’s latest generation of single-aisle planes, it would take years for operators to get their planes, Al-Awadhi said.

"The plan is to continue where we're going ... even though this is a hiccup," he added. 

Global airlines are slashing flights and raising fares and fees to offset higher costs, even as airports in the Middle East have been targeted by air strikes linked to the war in Iran. 

Al-Awadhi also said he was worried that an Iranian attack that killed one person at an airport in Kuwait earlier this week resulted in damage to a terminal used by foreign carriers in the country. He said he believed the terminal would take at least a year to repair.

“My personal guess, looking at the damage from the videos and pictures that were sent to me, it’s going to take ages,” he said. “So my concern is, will the other carriers be able to go into Kuwait?"

He said Kuwait would either need to fast-track completion of part of a new airport terminal,  or allow foreign airlines to operate out of  terminals currently used by domestic carriers such as Kuwait Airways. 

“It will take some tough decisions and logistics to get that sorted,” he added.    

(Reporting By Gabriel Araujo and Allison Lampert in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)