JEDDAH, 6 February 2007 — Saudi Arabian Airlines, which is facing increased competition from national and international carriers, will soon announce discounted ticket rates to woo passengers, the company’s Director General Khaled Al-Mulhim said in comments published yesterday.
“We’ll announce within few days the rate of discounts to be given on tickets for our flights to different destinations,” he said after launching the electronic ticketing system at King Abdul Aziz International Airport here on Sunday.
“We are happy to provide advanced services to our customers,” the director general said, adding that the new ticketing system would save time, energy and money. Saudia officials issued 130 tickets in two hours using the new system.
Yousuf Attiyah, assistant vice president, said electronic ticketing system would be made available at all the Kingdom’s regions within three months. The fare cuts come as two domestic carriers, Sama and NAS, will take to the skies soon, thus creating formidable domestic competition for Saudia.
Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation and chairman of Saudi Arabian Airlines, recently commended the airline’s efforts to further improve its services in line with its long-term development strategy. The airline’s 10-year strategy was aimed at confronting the big competition from other airline companies.
Saudi Airlines, which is witnessing rapid expansion, required a variety of new planes and is reportedly in negotiations with Boeing and Airbus to purchase new aircraft worth $12 billion (SR45 billion) to strengthen its fleet and provide seats to its growing number of passengers.
The deal, the largest of its kind, to purchase around 60 planes will bolster the airline’s current fleet of 139, helping it to counter the challenges posed by regional and international airline companies.
A Western source confirmed negotiations were ongoing and that the Saudis would probably split the order between the two Western plane-makers, in a similar fashion to recent defense orders.
Last November, Mulhim said the number of visitors to the Kingdom would triple from a current 3.5 million in the next 10 years as increased numbers of Muslims visit the country for Haj and Umrah.
Saudia carried a record 17.57 million passengers in 2006, registering an increase of 471,462 passengers compared to the previous year. These passengers included 720,516 Umrah pilgrims whom the airline transported from its domestic and international stations.
Saudia’s last major aircraft order was for 61 Boeing aircraft in 1995, which included several 747s delivered over a four-year period. In 2005, it bought 15 66-seat Embraer planes from Brazil for $400 million.
The delivery of the new planes will not come in time for the proposed flotation of Saudi Arabian Airlines, expected in 2008.
