JEDDAH, 2 December 2006 — National Air Services (NAS) has decided to invest more than SR665 million on restructuring. The company also announced appointment of Taher Agueel as its executive president.
The restructuring process witnessed recruitment of several qualified hands from different airlines around the world and creation of new positions such as vice president, executive director to manage its various departments and services.
The NAS has already established an all-premium carrier, Al-Khayala, which operates a fleet of Airbus narrow-body aircraft. Other services and departments include NetJets, aircraft management, private projects, safety, quality, engineering and maintenance, operations and human resources.
Agueel has vast experience in investment and banking sectors. He was president of Deutsche Azizia for Financial Services, owned by Deutsche Bank, and has held leading positions in Azizia Commercial Investment Company and Deutsche Bank.
He takes over the leadership of NAS at a time when the company intends to expand its services in Saudi Arabia and Middle East. NAS was established in 1999 by a group of investors. Its Al-Khayala services, considered first of its kind in the Middle East, targeted top businessmen and high-ranking personalities.
Agueel expected a big boom in the Kingdom’s aviation sector in the coming years, especially after the liberalization policies adopted by the civil aviation sector, positive indicators of the Kingdom’s economy and its growing population.
“NAS has taken all strategic steps to make use of the Kingdom’s market by offering innovative services to the different groups of clients in the country,” he said.
NAS currently operates the largest fleet of aircraft among private airlines in the Middle East. It has to its credit 33 planes including Airbus and Boeing.
