JEDDAH: The director general of Saudi Arabian Airlines has clarified that a 25 percent fare hike the airline imposed from Jan. 1 on First and Horizon classes was applied only to tickets purchased outside the Kingdom.
“The recent fare hike is applied only to tickets purchased outside the Kingdom by passengers who want to fly to Saudi cities during their international journey,” Khaled Al-Molhem said on Monday.
Al-Molhem expressed hope that the move would increase business with other airlines, which may want Saudia to provide connecting flights for their passengers to the Kingdom and neighboring countries.
“We receive a lot of ticket purchase orders for First Class and Horizon Class from different parts of the world, especially Europe.”
Al-Molhem said the air transport market has been witnessing speedy changes, forcing airlines to adapt by modernizing systems, providing intensive training to staff and improving services to passengers at airports and on flights.
The Saudia chief was optimistic about the airline’s future. “We are now engaged in a massive restructuring process, covering all vital sectors. We are modernizing our fleet, improving work methods and marketing.”
Saudi Airlines has signed a SR20 billion deal to purchase 70 advanced Airbus and Boeing planes to strengthen its domestic and international fleet. It expects to receive half of them by the end of this year.
“We have a future plan that is aimed at making Saudi Arabian Airlines a pioneer in the region in aviation, technical maintenance, ground services and other major sectors,” Al-Molhem said.
He said the airline has achieved 90 percent Saudization. “We’ll continue our efforts in nationalizing jobs,” he added.
He claimed Saudi pilots are among the best in the world, adding most Saudia staff were highly qualified.
