A clue to how it operates lies in the name that has the connotations of "abundant" and "available". Not a scheduled airline, it will fly to any destination requested to pick up and deliver Haj and Umrah pilgrims to the Kingdom subject to being booked by tour operators. A full service airline, Al Wafeer provides everything that goes with that except price and adds the ability of any group to book its own aircraft and flights.
The major difference to the tour operators that book Haj and Umrah travel from overseas is that they could, instead of distributing groups of travelers over the seats available on scheduled airlines with all the accompanying logistic problems, rescheduling and cancellations, they could access a new service. Instead of buying a series of available slots, "The difference now is that the travel agent buys an aeroplane."
Al Wafeer's underlying and motivating principle is to offer reliable and committed service to Haj and Umrah pilgrims especially in countries that have not, in the opinion of Adnan Dabbagh, president and CEO of Al Wafeer, received it in the past. He told Arab News that the company had made a strategic decision that, while still servicing the MENA region and Indonesia, to develop services to West Africa and the "stan" states of the former USSR. He also took account of the huge Indonesian market and said that Al Wafeer had made its first into Indonesia on June 11.
"I have always had an affinity to serve and take care of travelers that come to perform Haj and Umrah," said Dabbagh who has retired from two decades with Saudia as executive vice-president of operations. "It comes from a deeply held religious conviction I have about the guests of Allah."
He said that he instilled this same commitment into all his staff. "Our whole reason for existence is to serve these people and if any Haj or Umrah pilgrim comes out of it unsatisfied, I take it personally."
Dabbagh agreed that the airline needed to make a profit: "We need to make a profit because it will not help Hajis at all to have an airline that is bankrupt," he said.
His clear-eyed business view was that Islamic religious travel would continue indefinitely based on the expanding 1.6 billion Muslim Ummah across the world.
"From the commercial point of view this market is going to be with us forever - it is a market I do not have to develop. Every Muslim aspires to Haj and can come to Umrah as well. Our sales are already done for us." He observed that the religious tourism market was always going to be with us, "no matter what the economic downturn or civil strife."
In the long term, although the Kingdom currently imposes quotas on Haj, Dabbagh thought that these limitations will improve and Hajis will double or triple. Moreover, the Umrah season was open eight months of the year and provided a continuous demand. Added to that the expansion of KAIA (King Abdul Aziz International Airport) over the next 20 years to a handling capacity of 80 million passengers a year is encouraging. Coupled with the expansion of Medina airport to international status from domestic, Dabbagh saw the future of religious tourism to Saudi Arabia as very positive.
Al Wafeer took three years to bring into being from the initial proposal. During 2009 it finally received its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) after fulfilling the various requirements of equipment, system and staffing. Oct. 30, 2009 saw the operations get under way.
The first, and successful, test of the airline's capabilities came with Haj when it carried some 20,000 pilgrims. Now it is in its first Umrah season the build up of passengers has been gradual but, said Dabbagh, the results were encouraging.
"The most important thing for us is that we have now created our name in the market place and this is what we need to work on this year, raising the profile. This year we need to see the establishment of our airline as a serious competitor in the religious travel business," he said.
Currently Al Wafeer does not involve itself in other markets, preferring to focus on the Haj and Umrah market. Dabbagh did not rule out diversification, however. "Our AOC entitles us for anything, tourism for example and not necessarily a scheduled service but a regular service to some sectors or markets."
A full-service airline, Al Wafeer made strategic decision not to fight price wars. "If you do this, then eventually you will cut into the levels of service, and service to Hajis is what we are about," Dabbagh concluded.
