However, there are those who wrote and attacked Saudia, diagnosing the problem but failing to suggest solutions. They did not study external factors that Saudia had no control over nor did they try to examine whether Saudia was a victim of others’ incompetence.
In fact, Saudia is a victim of the General Authority For Civil Aviation (GACA), which slept for three whole years and did not put a brick for a new airport, so the airline had to work in old and cracked facilities. The long queues of people at the airports, who are also victims of the GACA, criticize the wrong party. The moment they see a member of Saudia staff, they start yelling and shouting at him, not knowing that he was not to blame.
Saudia flies to 25 domestic airports, while other GCC airlines fly only to international airports. Therefore, we will be doing Saudia a great injustice if we compare it to other GCC airlines, which also operate according to market rules and at the prices of their choice.
So we have either to accept our national carrier as a public transport company or accept its terms and conditions. The student travels on Saudia between Jeddah and Abha at SR200, while the price of a second-class train ticket between Paris and Geneva, the same distance, is about SR980.
Yes, we have every right to criticize Saudia and hold it accountable for any clear mistakes that might indicate negligence or corruption.
The airline, however, has every right to work according to market rules. We have to cure its old ills, otherwise it will remain a social security company that will guarantee traveling to all airports not according to its prices, but to those suitable for students and families.
I challenge any other airline company to enter our local market and operate in the circumstances Saudia works under.
