JEDDAH, 11 July 2005 — Saudi Arabian Airlines earned a record revenue of SR13.53 billion last year, the highest in its history, according to Dr. Khaled Ben-Bakr, director general of the airline. The amount was SR3.365 billion higher than that of 2003.
Addressing a meeting of the board of directors, chaired by Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, Ben-Bakr said new aircraft ordered by the airline would join the fleet from Nov. 15.
Prince Sultan commended the airline’s outstanding performance and achievements over the past years, the Saudi Press Agency said. He also expressed satisfaction over the airline’s international reputation in terms of safety and services.
Saudia has won the IATA Operational Safety Audit Certificate for the first time without any observations as the airline fulfilled all safety conditions and achieved the top position among 43 airline companies which applied for the program.
Ben-Bakr said Saudia’s financial performance in the last six months reflected continued growth in both revenues and profits. He attributed the results to cutting expenditures without affecting safety and services.
The director general underscored the airline’s success in stopping financial losses and making substantial profits. In 1998, Saudia made a loss of SR1.4 billion, he pointed out. It then dropped to SR659 million in 1999, SR578 million in 2000 and SR110 million in 2001.
“Saudia posted its first profit (SR117 million) in history in 2002,” he said, adding that the amount doubled to SR252 million in 2003 and SR440 million in 2004. “During the last seven years the airline was able to improve its financial chart by SR1.842 billion,” he said.