Saudi Arabia, recognized as a pioneer in cargo traffic, is the center of attraction for visitors from all over the world, says Brig. Gen. Mohammad Y. Al-Shablan, CEO of Arabasco.
“The impact of the Arab Spring and the euro debt crisis is not that serious for the Saudi economy, especially when talking about its cargo traffic, compared to the other countries in the GCC and MENA,” Al-Shablan told Diana Al-Jassem of Arab News in an exclusive interview.
Strength, safety and efficiency are required to ensure the development of aviation sector in Saudi Arabia. The development of airport projects and further investments on the ground for air traffic management are very much needed, he added.
Al-Shablan confirms that Saudi aviation has achieved some growth but it is not keeping pace with the growing development of the Kingdom. “We are looking for further changes in the field of aviation. Therefore I expect soon a very rapid growth under the leadership of Prince Fahad bin Abdullah, president of GACA (General Authority of Civil Aviation).”
Success recipe
Tell us about your marketing strategy and your branding for the coming few months, and how your company will react to cope up with the economic changes?
Our marketing strategy focuses on the following:
• Explore new partnerships and job projects.
• Enhance efforts to capture more customers through better offers and high quality service.
• Redesign strategies whenever needed to cope up with any changes or developments.
What is your advice for developing the Saudi aviation sector and where do you see this sector after 20 years?
My advice is simple: Stand strongly before any competition and try your best to mitigate any difficulties you encounter.
I expect tough competition in the next 20 years with the coming of new entrants to our region, which will be, by God’s will, strongly and financially established.
What obstacles have you faced in your work experience. Do you think obstacles are delaying the development of the aviation industry?
Obstacles are the essence of every successful work, and without overcoming them no one will feel the taste of success. Our obstacles differ from others, as we are facing the high risk of working on credit basis, and once we overcome this by the joint efforts of the board of directors and the management, we will move to investing in good opportunities in our field of business.
From your personal experience, tell us what is your opinion regarding the employment of Saudi pilots. Do you think that Saudi pilots need more skills/training courses to be able to work in this sector?
Saudi pilots by the testimony of many others who are not Saudis, and not myself, have proven that they are efficient, dedicated and professional. I believe that everyone needs training in his profession.
Company agenda
Do you think that you are able to find enough skilled personnel to handle Arabasco’s growth strategy?
Arabasco is surviving with its current staff, with Saudis constituting 50 percent. According to our plans, the board of directors' policy and the company’s strategy, we are keen to train the Saudi cadres for replacement of non-Saudis whenever possible.
Would you tell us how liberty contributes in developing the services, and what is your company's agenda for the coming period?
If you mean economic liberty, we enjoy this in all aspects in the Kingdom, which is now inviting many investors to come to Saudi Arabia, and we are not practicing any difficulty in developing our services.
What are Arabasco's new plans, if any, in terms of aircraft maintenance, management and ground handling services as also for competing with business jet communities worldwide. Can you tell us more about Arabasco's new terminal and VIP lounges at the new King Abdulaziz International Airport?
We are aiming to retool our financial policy by establishing cost reduction strategies to optimize our profits for the benefit of our shareholders and employees. So our agenda is as follows:
• 1. Maintenance is one of our board’s major concerns and so we are now redesigning our MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) by establishing and abiding by the customer’s preferences in maintenance, ground services, air services and TQ (Total Quality).
• 2. The FBO (fixed-base operations): What we are occupying now is the new and last one as far as my knowledge goes. I do not, so far, have any idea about a new terminal or VIP lounges.
Saudi aviation portfolio
The Middle East region has spent $ 100 billion on airport projects and has some of the most business-friendly governments in the world. Do you think that investment on the ground needs to be matched with investment in air traffic management?
It is gratifying to read the figure $ 100 billion spent on airport projects. It is well known that air traffic management is an essential complementary industry to the air traffic. If we look into this correlation, we realize that the air projects and air traffic management form two faces of the same coin. Without efficient, strong, safe, optimized strategies, we will not have our planes flying high. With airport projects on one hand and investment on the ground on the other, we need to match the same in air traffic management.
There are, of course, challenging economic conditions that remain across the globe. How do you evaluate the cargo traffic in Saudi Arabia compared to the GCC?
The challenging economic conditions vary from one nation/country to the other. Thanks to God, the impact of these economic conditions or crisis is not that serious for us. However, when talking about the cargo traffic in Saudi Arabia compared to the GCC, I can strongly say that we are the pioneers of this industry not only in the GCC but also in the Middle East. I confirm that because we have been in this business for years. The Kingdom is the center of attraction to visitors from all over the world, especially Muslims from the world over who come for religious tourism and others who come for work and business. From our past, current and expected future experiences, we always raise the following catchwords: Respect the past, consider the present but influence the future.
How does privatization contribute to development of quality services in aviation sector?
Frankly speaking, this is a delicate question to answer. First of all, we need to educate the society about the whole gamut of privatization — its pros and cons. We heard a long ago about the privatization of Saudia, and nothing happened so far as this issue is concerned. It needs a lot of pre-work for setting the scene for something new. However, private aviation services are going on, and in my personal opinion, are surviving because they started as a private business and remain as private in addition to the fact that they have a limited business.
Arabasco is considered number one in MENA and GCC due to the high level of services provided for about 22,000 flights a year. What is the current status of Saudi aviation sector and what are your expectations?
Thanks for this complement, which I am proud of because I am very biased toward our national companies. Saudi aviation has achieved some growth but does not seem to be keeping pace with the growing development of our Kingdom. However, I expect very soon a rapid growth under the leadership of Prince Fahad bin Abdullah, president of GACA.
Do you think new international companies will be interested in the Kingdom’s operating and maintenance services?
This leads to the serious word "competition." Issuing more licenses for new international companies in maintenance services will surely increase the competition, which in itself is a double-edged weapon. In other words, customers may get better quality service but new entrants with their long experience might drive Saudi players out of this market; or customers may get lower prices but on account of quality and efficiency. And so what I suggest is that instead of licensing new entrants, why not we encourage our existing companies to import the latest know-how of such international companies by the means that enable them to render the best services to their companies to generate the targeted profits.
What are the challenges that Saudi Arabia might face in terms of domestic air transportation in the future?
The challenges we are facing now and will be facing in the future are that the travel culture of citizens and expatriates has changed and now people prefer air travel to any other means even domestically, so more aircraft and more airports are needed and I am confident that our leaders are well aware of this.
Tell us about the latest development in the IT program that Saudi aviation sector has started implementing, and what is the budget that Saudi aviation needs to develop the electronic service through IT?
Generally speaking and as far as my knowledge goes, Saudi aviation and all of its sectors are using the latest and most advanced IT using a cloud of servers to enhance customer services and extending the same to all destinations to share data with all relevant parties. As for the other part of your question, that is the budget, I am sorry I am not in a position to give you any such information.
How do Saudi airports affect or facilitate the process of air transportation and determine the quality of service provided?
Saudi airports normally work according to established policies and procedures and there are teams devoted to the evaluation of the performance of each and every airport. They hold periodic meetings for this purpose under the supervision of the audit and planning entities that forward their reports and proposals to the higher management.
Saudi Arabia witnesses a growing demand for private jets, especially in summer time.
Can you give us the details of the expected growth of and the number of flights private jets operate annually?
The movement of private jets is not scheduled. Their movements are mainly governed by the aircraft owners and we have our airport working and staff ready around the clock. As you said the peak of movements is normally at summer time, school holidays, Eid holidays, etc., and so we do not have a fixed number of the flights, but the annual movements average 19,000. We expect private flights to have a substantial growth, especially in Riyadh, in the next few years.
