JEDDAH, 19 September 2007 — Nas Air, the first budget carrier to fly in the Kingdom, had reached an agreement with Saudi Arabian Airlines to take over several public service obligation routes from end of October in accordance with the Air Traffic Privatization Act, the company said yesterday.
Under this act, GACA granted licenses to budget carriers to operate in the Kingdom, and set mandatory destinations to be served by each airline. As a result, part of the domestic routes operated by Saudi Arabian airline, among them, Dammam, Tabuk, Abha, Gassim and Hail will gradually move to Nas Air, and Saudia will stop serving these destinations from Oct. 28, 2007.
The airline is set to offer lower fares on the new routes. SR49-seat on all routes will be available for sale on flynas.com, or through the call center and travel agents for booking period between Sept.18 and Sept. 30 and travel between Oct. 29 and end of March 2008.
Since it launched in February 2007, Nas Air has been punctual, with 90 percent depart-on-time rates.
Announcing Nas Air’s expansion, Taher Agueel, NAS president, said: “Nas Air recognizes the high demand for budget airline services connecting the capital Riyadh with other destinations in Saudi Arabia. We are delighted to be adding other attractive routes to our network. A greater choice of routes is good news for passengers, and is also a major boost for tourism in the Kingdom, which will now enjoy an upsurge in year-round visitors and benefit the local economy.”
With these new destinations, and the number of routes growing from 4 to 23, Nas Air is expected to triple the number of passengers it carries from Riyadh to different cities, making it the leading airline serving different regions in the Kingdom.
“When we started operations last February, Nas Air has promised the Saudi public affordable fares and safe transportation, to facilitate travel for all segments of the population. Today, is a milestone for the Kingdom, with our airline providing more available seats accessible to everyone, in order to save time flying, instead of using the bus or car. Indeed, this airline is all about people, those who want to fly and those who make that happen,” Agueel added.
