The airline flies to 89 destinations
across the Middle East and North Africa, Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America. Saudia’s main operational base is at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KALA) in Jeddah – just 80 kilometres from Makkah in the west of the country – while its other main hubs are King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh and King Fahd International Airport (KFIA) in Dammam. In line with its bullish strategy for expan-
sion, the carrier has placed some of the largest new aircraft orders of any operator in the world. In the coming years, it will continue to take delivery of new genera- tion Boeing 777s and Dreamliners, as well as Airbus A320s, A321s and A330s.
UNIQUE CHARTER BUSINESS Saudi Arabia commands half of all charter flight business in the Middle East and Saudia has developed a charter programme to meet the needs of religious tourism alongside government investment in airport infrastructure to cope with it. Saudi Arabia’s airline operators – and
its tourism industry as a whole – face a unique challenge due to the huge visitor traffic during Islamic pilgrimages on dates that change each calendar year. Over three million people arrive in the kingdom for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, hence scheduled flights would be unable to cope with the influx. Now Saudia works closely with authorities across the country to ensure enough aircraft seats are available to meet the demands of Muslims visiting the holy cities.
AIRPORT EXPANSION Saudi Arabia’s airport infrastructure is undergoing one of the biggest expansion programmes anywhere in the world. The kingdom has 27 airports, four of
which are international while the rest serve domestic operations. As the only large dom- estic aviation market in the GCC, a strong commercial aviation sector is needed in order to support its development objectives. The new KAIA in Jeddah will be able to
handle 30 million passengers a year once its first phase is completed in 2014. This number is expected to increase to 80 million passengers a year once the second and third phases of the project are completed. The government wants to ensure air links
THE CONTINUED TREND OF IMPROVING GROWTH IN PASSENGERTRAFFIC HAS ALSO BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO THE STEADY LIBERALISATION OF SAUDI’S AVIATION INDUSTRY
are first class, whether it’s with the capital Riyadh or one of the four new cities being built in the kingdom, like the SAR30 billion (US$8 billion) Prince AbdulAziz bin Mousaed Economic City (PAMEC), located in the northern central region of Hail. The city will cover 156 square kilometres and be home to 300,000 people, which means air links form a vital part of its development infrastructure. Riyadh’s KKIA is being upgraded to handle
25 million passengers a year within three years, up from 14 million, according to Dr Faisal A-Sugair, Vice President of GACA. Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz
International Airport, a regional airport in the western city of Al Madinah, has undergone expansion in 2012 to increase its capacity by eight million passengers a year to 14 million. This includes new terminals and groundwork for aircraft and is targeted for completion in 2015. The country is also developing a new
airport in the mountainous western region of Al Taif. There are also plans to extend Najran airport in the south as part of ambitious inte- grated transport improvements that include a vision for a supporting railway infrastructure.
BUDGETAIRLINES Relatively new to the Middle East market, no-frills travel has taken off over the past five years and now represents an eight percent market share of the region’s airline sector.
In Saudi Arabia, Nas Air became the
first low-cost carrier in 2007. It now flies to eight cities in the kingdom and 25 interna- tional destinations including Egypt, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Turkey and the UAE. The airline is a subsidiary of Saudi’s National Air Services (NAS) and boasts the youngest fleet of aircraft in Saudi Arabia promising easy-to-purchase fares. Customers seeking the best-value travel
within the region can select the services and options appropriate to their travel needs along with online check-in and virtual tickets using mobile technology, while corporate clients get discounted fares and greater flexibility.
LUXURY TRAVEL A private jet for business travel is a nec- essity for many of the individuals and companies operating across the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia is home to some of the most prominent charter flight operators. Saudi Private Aviation (SPA) is the luxury
jet arm of Saudia and joined Comlux Aviation Group two years ago to develop VIP charter markets. With fixed-base operations in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, the two parties are now providing private clients access to a VIP fleet across the region.
1 King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh 2 Nas Air
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