Bombardier delivered a pair of CRJ900s into Iraqi Airways service in July, following an Iraqi payment of security equal to the value of the aircraft to Kuwait Airways. The Canadian manufacturer has now delivered six of the 10 CRJ900s originally ordered by Iraq and, according to a Bombardier spokesman, continues to work toward delivering the remaining four.
The Iraqi security payment to Kuwait Airways relates to Kuwait Airways’ efforts to obtain compensation from Iraqi Airways and the state of Iraq for the theft of its fleet and spare parts during Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Kuwait Airways now holds judgments–won in a British court–totaling more than $1.2 billion against Iraqi Airways and $80 million against the state of Iraq, stemming from a finding that the country had financed Iraqi Airways and controlled the litigation from the start. It therefore carries responsibility for financing the costs of the claimant, explained the lead attorney representing Kuwait Airways, Christopher Gooding of the international law firm Fasken Martineau.
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