RIYADH, 31 January 2008 — Sama, the Kingdom’s budget airline, has blamed unfair treatment by the General Authority of Civil Aviation for its huge losses.
Addressing businessmen and the media at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday, Sama Chairman Prince Bandar ibn Khaled Al-Faisal said his airline had to pay $2.30 per liter for jet fuel while the national carrier, Saudi Arabian Airlines, was paying only 50 cents per liter.
“The overall effect has been drastic losses for the airline,” he said. “Profits are being eaten up by the cost of fuel and, as a result, the airline’s capital is being diminished.”
The fact that the airline has been banned from operating international flights to compensate for its losses in the local market caused “100 percent losses” to the company.
“This was not taken into account when the strategies were initially put in place,” Prince Bandar said, adding that the civil aviation authorities were looking into the matter.
Another problem which Sama has faced is that the airline has not been exempted from paying airport tariffs. Prince Bandar said that on some sectors given only to Sama, there have been as few as four passengers. “Despite that, we are still committed to the sectors assigned to us in the Kingdom,” he said.
The airline chief listed a number of problems, some of which he attributed to company errors.
One of the problems he mentioned was that only Saudia crew members were given clearance at international airports. “In some situations, our entire crew had to leave the plane and check through customs, both when arriving and departing,” he said.
“In other situations, our planes have to wait 10 to 15 minutes on the runway for clearance to take off because civil aviation authorities are not accustomed to new airlines,” Prince Bandar said.
“At the end of the day, the customer does not care whose fault it is. He has paid for his ticket in expectation of services, and he is entitled to those services. We take full responsibility,” Prince Bandar said.
Despite operating for less than a year, Sama has been able to attain a 52 percent Saudization rate. Its aim is to raise the rate to 75 percent as soon as possible.
Unlike other carriers which promise trips as a reward for flying thousands of air miles, Sama’s strategy to reward its frequent fliers is simple: Return nine Sama boarding passes within a year and get a free ticket to any destination, regardless of the price.
Prince Bandar said there was still room for other economy carriers in the Kingdom and that competition should be open to everyone. Currently only Sama and NAS operate as economy carriers in the Kingdom.
“I say open the sector for everyone,” Prince Bandar said. “The most important thing is that there should be fair treatment for all,” he added.
