RIYADH, 6 February 2006 — The new Saudi private airline — with the brand name, Sama (‘to rise high’) — will be up and flying by the summer. It will cover all the routes in the Kingdom as well as those in the Gulf and North Africa.
This was announced at a press conference by Prince Bandar ibn Khalid Al-Faisal, chairman of Sama, who said the paper work relating to the licensing procedure was proceeding smoothly. Among those present were Andrew Cowen, chief executive of the management team, Sudeep Ghai, chief commercial officer, Michael Coltman, chief operating officer, and Michael Williams, non-executive director.
Sama will operate Boeing 737-300 aircraft with an economy class configuration in line with the prevailing trend seen in low-budget airlines.
Prince Bandar said the management team brings with it a wealth of experience in operating low-budget airlines in Europe and the United States. The airline’s brand name was carefully selected to reflect its Arab identity. The final choice was in favor of Sama, which, as a verb, means to “tower up or to become elevated.”
It was also disclosed that the company has begun the recruitment process. Some 350 employees will be hired by the end of this year, with the work force targeted to reach 1200 by 2010. There will also be job opportunities for women. While the majority of the work force would be Saudis, foreigners would also be hired on the basis of their experience and skills.
Those interested have been asked to submit their CVs via their website, www.flysama.com. The applications should be in English in line with the mandatory requirements of all airlines.
Asked about the growth potential, Cowen said it was enormous in the context of a highly sophisticated market. “There are 400 million consumers across the Middle East and North Africa. It’s a market that is relatively under-served in terms of air services. At the same time, there is a huge demand for growth if one goes by Saudia’s fleet expansion program. The fare structure that we are going to offer should result in a significant growth in traffic volume.”
According to official statistics, the total number of arriving and departing passengers in the Kingdom stood at 34.261 million in 2004.
The growth rate in the air traffic during 1995-2004 surged by 28 percent. The Jeddah-Riyadh sector emerged as the largest domestic sector in the Kingdom with 1,123,000 passenger movements in 2004. As many as 4.8 million outbound trips were made by Saudis in 2003, while the number of tourist arrivals in the Kingdom was 7.1 million during the same period.
Prince Bandar, who is also the chairman of Investment Enterprises Ltd., the holding company, said they have signed a contract with Mango Aviation Partners, a British firm that specializes in the set-up and management of low fare airline operations. It will act as a consultant to their project.
Asked if the new company, capitalized at SR200 million, would go public with the flotation of an IPO (initial public offering), Prince Bandar said there were no plans for an IPO in the near future. However, it could be an option at a later stage.
As for maintenance, he said “Sama is negotiating with Western aircraft maintenance firms that specialize in servicing low-fare airlines.
These are organizations with worldwide experience in the provision of maintenance services to airlines and have unrivalled reputation for excellence.”