The campaign, which started on Saturday and ended yesterday, aimed to target the biggest number of travelers. Special services were presented for both local and international flights.
“Today we are presenting a new service for travelers. Customers can buy tickets online with a discount of SR15 for local flights. It is easy to pay by credit card or ATM,” said Sary Ahmad Kamal Khan, an expert in electronic commerce at Saudia.
He added, “International flights are also involved in our new services. Many flights to Asia, Africa and Europe are presented for appropriate prices.”
He said Saudia also launched a Twitter and Facebook account where people can get all information in one tweet. “For example, yesterday we received a new Boeing plane from Washington; we immediately posted this news on Twitter.”
In addition to this new service, we have a full tourism plan online, where travelers can book their flights and hotels in many countries, said Khan.
“Our policies are also explained in detail on our online website to help customers understand any procedures, such as delaying the flight fees or changing the ticket class fees,” he said.
According to Khan, a special new service called “Boarding pass through Internet” had also been launched. People can use the service through their smart phone in Jeddah and soon in Riyadh and Dammam as well.
“Another program, called Al-Fursan, has been launched too, which allows Red Sea Mall visitors to fill applications and be registered within two days,” he said.
He explained the Al-Fursan program and its advantages, saying that an Al-Fursan member can get a variety of personalized services while earning reward miles that can be redeemed for free flights and upgrades. This is in addition to an array of special privileges intended to make flying easier than before, including a substantial excess luggage allowance and personalized luggage tags.
He added, “With Al-Fursan, you can also experience a host of exciting offers, rewards and preferential rates on a range of selected services through the Saudia global program partnerships, which include car rental companies, credit card organizations and world-class hotels. This program also allows special services, such as the possibility to get 50 to 65 kilos of baggage allowance for a low cost,” he said.
These new services came after Saudia signed an agreement with SkyTeam to join the alliance earlier in 2012. Saudia will be SkyTeam’s first member from the Middle East, adding 35 new destinations to the alliance network. These new destinations are on the Arabian peninsula, the Indian subcontinent and Northern Africa.
“We changed the logo from Saudi Airlines to Saudia. Seats on flights have also changed, and new gifts will be given for travelers,” Khan said.
Arab News asked people about their opinion regarding the new services that Saudia is presenting. Jumana Fahad, a Saudi woman who attended the campaign said, “I am glad to see such campaigns in malls. I visited the Saudia tent, where I acquired new information about booking and services. In fact, I was unable to register online, as I don’t have these skills. Today, they taught me how to do a booking easily.”
