Year after year we hear the national carrier, Saudi Arabian Airlines, telling us that they have achieved a performance in excess of 90 percent in sticking to flight schedules. They also tell us that this rate has never fallen. Well, we might accept these figures if we were talking about an airline that operates from a country other than Saudi Arabia or about passengers other than those flying Saudi Arabian Airlines.
One seldom meets somebody traveling on Saudia who has not encountered some flight delay. I personally have experienced delays in the airline’s domestic and international flights at least once in every three flights. I am not saying I find Saudia to be the worst airline; in fact, when it comes to international carriers, Saudia is among the best and most dependable when it comes to flight schedules. But when Saudia tells us year after year that they are operating at a level of near-perfection in every aspect we simply cannot accept it.
Certainly we cannot accept it if we listen to passengers who base their judgment on their own personal experiences and not on exaggerated figures and carefully manipulated statistics. I do not know what criteria Saudia officials use to arrive at their figures or what margin of delay is allowed according to the airline’s flight schedules. What is sure, however, is that the reality of traveling on Saudia is something different from what the official line would have us believe. The level of performance reported by passengers is a far cry from what the airline tells us.
Arab News From the Local Press 23 February 2003
