JEDDAH: Low-cost Saudi carrier Nas Air has heated up summertime air travel competition with the inauguration of two new routes to Egypt in July: Sharm El Sheikh and Assiut.
Passengers flying recently on Nas Air Flight 755 destined to Egypt’s popular tourist attraction Sharm El Sheikh said they were pleased to have competition to popular regional destinations.
“The more I save on my airfare the more I have to spend on my vacation,” said Mohammed, a Jordanian resident of Jeddah traveling with two friends on a two-day weekend holiday to the Egyptian diving resort city. “I took three things into consideration when I chose the low budget carrier: Punctuality, low cost and quality of aircraft.”
The bus delivering passengers to the aircraft was full as it stopped in front of a new Embraer 190.
“This is not bad,” said Mohammed.
“This is not bad at all,” replied Saleh Nasser, another passenger listening into our conversation.
Being a discount carrier, passengers pay for food, but the prices were fair with a main course choice of tuna, chicken or cheese sandwich. There were a fare variety of drinks and snacks. For a round-trip price of SR850 coupled with the relatively short flight, most passengers won’t miss the lack of an in-flight movie. The fare was approximately SR1,500 less in early July than fares charged by Saudia on its website.
“The earlier you book the lower the fare,” said Nas Air spokesman Waleed Al-Shaikh.
Nasser, a 32-year-old Saudi entrepreneur on the flight said it was his second time to travel on Nas Air.
“I am satisfied with the punctuality and the new fleet,” he said.
With the new routes to Egypt, Nas Air is also betting it will be able to attract Saudi-bound Haj and Umrah pilgrims in Egypt.
Nas Air President Sulaiman Al-Hamdan said the carrier is planning to increase its international destinations to ten routes
this year. With the two new Egyptian destinations, Nas Air now serves nine destinations abroad, including Amman, Damascus, Beirut and Abu Dhabi.
Armed with budget prices the airline aims to cash in on a portion of the market share of the estimated $6 billion that Saudis spent traveling aboard last year.
Nas Air has increased its flying hours by 38 percent. Domestic flights increased by 52 percent and international have grown by half.
