JEDDAH, 21 April 2004 — Saudi Arabian Airlines has come up with an ambitious plan to boost Umrah traffic on its carriers.
It was formalized during a four-day Umrah sales and marketing conference hosted by the airline, which ended yesterday. The conference sought cooperation of all members of the travel trade to boost Umrah traffic on Saudia.
“Two million Umrah pilgrims visited last year and we expect a six percent growth in this traffic this year,” Saudia Director General Khaled Ben-Bakr told reporters at the end of the conference. The national airline has also decided to dedicate more aircraft for Umrah pilgrims, he said.
One other outcome of the conference is that flight attendants will try to speak the language of the pilgrims. “If a flight originates in Pakistan, the flight attendant on board will interact with the pilgrims in Urdu,” Dr. Ben Bakr said.
The airline has also decided to make travel for transit passengers in Jeddah more attractive by offering them a 36-hour stopover-cum-Umrah package “for a nominal sum.”
Several speakers highlighted the fact that the national carrier is the best option for Umrah travel, as it has frequent flights to Jeddah and onward road transportation available to Makkah and Madinah.
