Saudi Arabian Airlines and flyadeal looks to add 25 new destinations in 2023......

Saudi Arabian Airlines and flyadeal sets course to add 25 new destinations in 2023 on SAUDIA Group Network:

All new routes are set to begin throughout 2023. The airline will publish more schedule details on announced destinations soon.

SAUDIA Group Director General, H.E. Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar commented on the international network expansion: “SAUDIA Group has been carrying the kingdom’s ambitions, values and traditions across every corner of its network, as it flies the nation's flag around the world. These new destinations will offer greater access and choices to our guests. Given the increase of demand in international travel, this is the right time to expand our global network in new, exciting ways,

SAUDIA has recently launched "Your Ticket Your Visa" in January. The first-of-its-kind service provides guests with even easier access to the Kingdom through a digital integration system that links transit visas with flight tickets. The new service is aimed to encourage passengers to perform Umrah, visit key destinations and attend events during their transit in the Kingdom. The new service, which covers all international airports in the Kingdom, will allow guests to stay in the Kingdom for up to 96 hours, during which they can travel around the Kingdom and perform Umrah. The digital integration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs facilitates the issuing of the transit visa and links it to SAUDIA flight ticket within three minutes.

SAUDIA started in 1945 with a single twin-engine DC-3 (Dakota) given to King Abdul Aziz as a gift by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This was followed months later with the purchase of two more DC-3s, forming the nucleus of what would soon become one of the world’s largest airlines.

Saudi Arabian flag-carrier SAUDIA to order 39 fuel-efficient 787-9 and 787-10 aircraft.

Saudi Arabian Airlines - SAUDIA has confirmed its intention to grow its long-haul fleet with the selection of up to 49 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. 

SAUDIA is set to purchase 39 787s, with a further 10 options, utilizing the outstanding efficiency, range and flexibility of the Dreamliner to sustainably grow its global operation. The agreement will include both 787-9 and 787-10 models.

This agreement is part of Saudi Arabia's wider strategic plan to transform the country into a global aviation hub. In total, Saudi Arabian carriers announced today their intent to purchase up to 121 787 Dreamliners in what will be the fifth-largest commercial order by value in Boeing's history. This will support the country's goal of serving 330 million passengers and attracting 100 million visitors annually by 2030.   

"SAUDIA continues its expansion efforts in all aspects of the airline; whether it's introducing new destinations or increasing the aircraft fleet," His Excellency Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of SAUDIA Group. "The agreement with Boeing delivers on this commitment and the newly added aircraft will further enable SAUDIA to fulfill its strategic objective of bringing the world to the Kingdom".

SAUDIA currently operates more than 50 Boeing aeroplanes on its long-haul network, including the 777-300ER (Extended Range) and 787-9 and 787-10 Dreamliner. The additional 787s complement SAUDIA's existing fleet, enabling it to effectively harness the value of the 777 and 787 families.

SAUDIA increases international flight capacity by 40%

SAUDIA Group, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, is continuing to implement its operational plan for 2023 by boosting its international presence and market share by increasing its seating capacity by 40% on high-demand destinations. The ambitious plan aims to expand SAUDIA’s network, connect international visitors with the Kingdom, and strengthen Saudi’s tourism, Hajj, and Umrah sectors. The plan also includes an increase in domestic flights and seating capacity.

SAUDIA has allocated over 25.3m seats for international flights in 2023 across almost 90,000 flights, up 40% from 2022. Similarly, seating capacity on domestic flights for 2023 has been increased by about half a million seats to reach over 17.8m seats, with the total number of domestic flights exceeding 102,100. The update to the company’s flight schedule and operations are designed to meet growing customer demand and further increase convenience in flight schedules throughout the year, and in particular during demand-peak seasons. 

Captain Ibrahim Koshy, CEO of SAUDIA, said: “We plan to build on SAUDIA’s operational success of last year with a strategic plan that further enhances SAUDIA’s reputation for meeting our guests’ needs and delivering performance excellence. Since the beginning of the new year, we have seen steadily increasing demand on already-popular routes. By expanding capacity and enhancing flight schedules SAUDIA is able to offer increased flexibility to customers and better manage its operational requirements in light of the significant challenges facing the aviation industry.” 

SAUDIA’s operational plan also features a number of new additions to its fleet. New Boeing B787 Dreamliner aircraft, with 24 business class seats and 333 economy class seats, will join SAUDIA’s fleet in 2023, along with the latest Airbus A321NX aircraft, that offer 20 business class seats and 168 economy class seats. Additionally, SAUDIA continues to implement strategies and systems that allow it to maintain operational efficiency while ensuring the highest safety and quality standards. 

With its advanced fleet of 142 aircraft, SAUDIA currently travels to over 100 destinations across four continents, delivering a daily flight rate of about 461 flights. The company has also enhanced its cutting-edge digital service offer on its website and mobile app, allowing customers to conveniently complete their travel procedures and access services online.

Saudia's performance in 2022.

SAUDIA has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) to improve the quality of their shared services and provide more initiatives that improve the travel experience.

SAUDIA has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) to improve the quality of their shared services and provide more initiatives that improve the travel experience.

Signed by the SAUDIA Chief Hajj & Umrah Officer, Mr. Amer AlKhushail, and the Executive Vice President of the Haramain High-Speed Railway (HHR) and Al Mashaeer, Engr. Rayan Al-Harbi, the agreement provides special prices for SAUDIA guests who are traveling to and from Makkah and Al Madinah via HHR.  

Later this year, SAUDIA and HHR booking systems will be linked, and Makkah will be added in the list of stations in the booking process. SAUDIA’s customers will be able to issue boarding passes for both the flight and train at the same time, whether through the website, digital application, or sales offices.

Saudia Cargo selects RTS Cargo Suite for a range of tech solutions

Saudia Cargo, one of the largest middle-eastern airlines, has partnered with Revenue Technology Services (RTS) in the cargo division.

Saudia Cargo serves an extensive global network spanning four continents, 225 international destinations, and 26 domestic destinations, operates a dedicated freighter fleet of seven aircraft and offers ample belly cargo capacity on 144 passenger planes on flights across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the USA.

The partnership entails the implementation of a Revenue Planning solution, Foresight, pricing solution, Accelerate, as well as revenue management solution, Velocity.

The three-pronged solution will be hosted in RTS private cloud environment.

Foresight helps airlines to determine the value of cargo in a schedule, set revenue and sales targets and track them. 

Accelerate helps airlines to negotiate optimal contract, spot, and tariff rates along with generating rate sheets and offers real time rating.

Velocity forecasts short-term and long-term capacity and demand and evaluates each booking for profitability.

Sound Machine learning and AI (Artificial Intelligence) based algorithms are the base for all three solutions. With this, Saudia Cargo joins the growing cargo community at RTS.

Raja Kasilingam, President of RTS commented, "We are quite excited about this partnership as we begin implementing all three of our cargo solutions at Saudia Cargo. RTS is proud to be part of Saudia Cargo's strategy to provide the best products to their customers while maintaining sustainability on all fronts." 

This partnership demonstrates the leadership and drive shown by both companies to challenge the industry norm and their aim to make significant improvements to how air cargo is handled.  This incentivizes RTS in its pursuit to being the cargo solution of choice in the airline industry, by integrating advanced forecasting and optimization algorithms, as well as cutting edge features required for enhanced pricing, revenue management and revenue planning.

SAUDIA unveils operational plans for 2022 Hajj season

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA), the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, has announced its operational plans to transport pilgrims to the Kingdom for the upcoming Hajj season this year.

Pilgrims visiting the Kingdom are set be flown in from all over the world to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah or Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah. From there, the guests will embark on their journey of faith and gratitude to the holy city of Makkah. After visiting the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, they will be flown back to their home countries following the successful completion of their pilgrimage.

SAUDIA has ensured that it has all required flights and adequate seating capacity in place to meet the demands of its passengers. The airline is well-equipped to provide pilgrims with world-class services at every service point throughout their trip.

His Excellency Eng. Ibrahim bin Abdulrahman Al-Omar, Director-General of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation, stated that the national carrier had concluded all preparations to start transporting pilgrims. The plan follows the directions of the Supreme Hajj Committee headed by His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Interior, and the Central Hajj Committee, headed by His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Province, in collaboration with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and Vision 2030's  Pilgrim Experience Program.­

Since its inception, SAUDIA has continued to offer comprehensive world-class services to pilgrims throughout their trip to the Holy sites of Makkah and Madinah, while also ensuring the safe return of guests to their home countries.

Saudia Cargo and Cainiao's Partnership Solidifies

The success of last year's cooperation agreement with Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group has enabled Saudia Cargo to achieve significant growth in e-commerce shipments this year. The agreement created a thriving 'sky bridge' between Asia and Europe, allowing Saudia Cargo to benefit from the opportunities arising from the growing global e-commerce market.

Cainiao joined Saudia Cargo's flight program in March 2021, linking Hong Kong SAR to Liege Belgium, via Saudia Cargo's Riyadh hub, with 12 flights operated per week. The freighter flight enables Riyadh to become the model of an effective distribution hub in the Middle East thanks to the strong partnerships that the company has forged with local players.

Vikram Vohra, Saudia Cargo's Regional Director – Asia Pacific: "The agreement has allowed us to benefit from access to Alibaba's e-commerce platform as online shopping continues to soar, boosted in part by the Covid-19 pandemic. The partnership with Cainiao, which offers logistic services to more than 200 countries, is central to our growth strategy for this decade and sets the template for future cooperation agreements. Cainiao has become a trusted and valued partner."

Dandy Zhang, Commercial Director of Global Line Haul, Cainiao's Cross-border business: "As a global smart logistics company, Cainiao has been consistently enhancing its logistics services and efficiency to satisfy the booming demand for e-commerce in Europe and Middle East. Our partnership with Saudia Cargo has been fruitful, and we look forward to strengthening our cooperation in the long term."

Saudia Cargo has increased the number of cargo flights it operates to destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America over the past few years to ensure that it continues to meet rising demand for e-commerce and deliver on Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030' strategy for growth.

Huawei and SAUDIA Airlines sign deal for an extensive partnership that includes adding the SAUDIA app to AppGallery

 Huawei Consumer Business Group announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SAUDIA Airlines for an extensive partnership that includes adding the SAUDIA app to AppGallery; Huawei’s official distribution platform and one of the top three global app marketplaces in the world.

 In addition to establishing a wider and closer cooperation on other digital products and services, the collaboration will also allow both brands to build awareness to a wider audience in the Middle East and Africa; and beyond.

SAUDIA guests will now be able to book and plan their flights between Saudi Arabia and their chosen destination from the convenience of their Huawei smart devices, bringing users a richer and more engaging range of functions conveniently to their fingertips.

Captain Ibrahim Koshy, CEO of SAUDIA Airlines said: “We are delighted to announce the signing of our MoU with Huawei. This agreement further enhances our capabilities to develop and deliver exceptional digital products to our customers. We are continually striving to push the boundaries of innovation to ensure our guests enjoy high quality experiences and our partnership with Huawei is testament to our success with our guests”.

The SAUDIA App has now become part of Huawei’s wider holistic ecosystem which offers a broad range of solutions and services including customer-centric initiatives for Huawei users.

SAUDIA crowned the World's Most Improved Airline in 2021

SAUDIA  wins the Skytrax award for the second time in four years!

           Skytrax announced this week that SAUDIA is the World's Most Improved Airline of 2021. This is the second time that SAUDIA has won this award since 2017. That year, the Saudi flag carrier impressively jumped from the 82nd to 51st position, a 40% improvement. This year, however, SAUDIA improved by a stunning 55% and is now 26th in the Skytrax ranking of global airlines.  

The award cements the airline's status as a full scale global carrier, constantly innovating its onboard service and culinary offering. Being awarded this accolade award reflects the dedication to quality and performance improvements in different award categories including cabin crew, food & beverage, in-flight entertainment and more. The Skytrax award comes as yet another milestone in SAUDIA's on-going transformation which has led to several other awards and recognitions. The airline's stellar health safety initiatives to ensure passenger safety during the COVID-19 pandemic have attracted global accolades.

With a route network of more than 95 destinations and a fleet of 145 aircraft – operating one of the youngest fleets in the world – SAUDIA is on an upwards trajectory of continued growth in international markets.

Saudi Arabian Airlines Director General, His Excellency Eng. Ibrahim Alomar said, "It is an honor to receive this award on behalf of the entire SAUDIA team who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the pursuit of the highest standards globally – from health and safety to the product and experience. I would also like to express SAUDIA's deep appreciation and gratitude to The Custodian Of The Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman for their continuous support to SAUDIA, the Kingdom's flag carrier. My congratulations also to SAUDIA's Chairman His Excellency Eng. Saleh Al Jasser and the rest of the Board of Directors on this achievement."

Continued Eng. Alomar: "As part of the airline's SV2020 Strategy & Transformation Plan, SAUDIA has invested in new aircraft, product innovation and service enhancements with a single purpose – to provide all of our guests with the highest level of hospitality and comfort in the skies. We are delighted that the world is noticing and recognizing our efforts."

Commenting on the award, Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax said: "SAUDIA continues to increase its global status and appeal amongst customers. Apart from overall improvement in the main survey, the airline performed well in many other survey sections which are considered for this award. It is a fabulous achievement for SAUDIA to be named the World's Most Improved Airline. Customers definitely recognize this improvement across the end-to-end passenger experience."                                     

Saudi Arabian Airlines - Saudia receives diamond status

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia has been awarded the Diamond status by APEX Health Safety powered by Simpliflying for the airline's efforts in ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness and sanitization across its operations. 

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) is the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it was established in 1945 and has grown to one of the Middle East's largest airlines.

The APEX Diamond Status from the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) is an accolade which recognizes industry leadership and stewardship in ensuring that the airline is deploying stringent measures in safety and protection from COVID-19. 

Speaking about the latest award presented to SAUDIA, Chief Executive Officer Captain Ibrahim S. Koshy said: "SAUDIA places the safety of its guests and team members with highest importance and is committed to exemplary, rigorous sanitization protocols for every step of the journey.

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) Ranked a Five-Star Global Airline by APEX

        Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia has been ranked a Five-Star Global Airline by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX).

The APEX Official Airline Ratings™ is the first airline rating program based solely on certified passenger feedback. 

The industry's most anticipated honor is based on neutral, third-party passenger feedback and insights gathered through APEX's partnership with TripIt® from Concur®.

During the Future Travel Experience APEX Virtual Expo, an awards ceremony was held and SAUDIA was delighted to be awarded the Five-Star accolade.  

Using a five-star scale, more than one million flights have been rated by passengers across nearly 600 airlines from around the world and independently certified by a professional external auditing company.

Saudi Arabian Airline gets 5th Boeing 787-10 aircraft.

Saudi Arabian Airlines  - SAUDIA, the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, marked a milestone with the induction of its fifth Boeing 787-10 aircraft into the fleet earlier this month.

The aircraft arrived in Jeddah on 15th October, from Boeing’s production facilities in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

SAUDIA is one of the first airlines in the world to operate the new aircraft type.

In recent years, SAUDIA has invested significantly in its fleet, acquiring state-of-the-art new aircraft and now operates one of the three youngest fleets in the skies with an average aircraft age of 5 years.  

An award-winning carrier, SAUDIA is one of the Middle East’s largest airlines, operating more than 170 narrow and widebody aircraft.

The airline route network includes more than 95 destinations across four continents to all 28 domestic airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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Saudi Arabian Airlines selects Comarch as its loyalty management technology provider

Saudia, the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a member of the SkyTeam alliance has signed a 10-year contract with Comarch (WSE: CMR), a global provider of software-defined products and services for improving business efficiency. The airline is to implement a loyalty management system designed by Comarch, specifically the For Travel Edition of Comarch Loyalty Management (CLM 5).

Saudi Arabian Airlines expects disruption to last the whole year

 State-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines -Saudia - does not expect flight operations to return to normal until the end of the year and is asking some cabin crew employees to suspend their contracts until then, according to internal emails seen by Reuters.

Saudi Arabia has suspended international flights and pilgrimages to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina, a major source of foreign visitors to the kingdom.

“Flight operations shall not be returning to normal, until December 2020, expectedly,” the airline said in two separate emails to cabin crew in which they were requested to suspend their contracts from this month until the end of the year.

It was not immediately clear how many cabin crew employees were being asked to suspend their contracts.

The Jeddah-based carrier, also known as Saudia, did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment outside normal business hours on Thursday.

North West Saudi Arabia opens up for the second "Winter at Tantora" Festival in AlUla

The second Winter at Tantora Festival in AlUla in North West Saudi Arabia has started!    This is a sensational a three-month celebration that will showcase the very best in international music, art and culture connecting East and West as the AlUla county has done for thousands of years. 

This festival is starting just months after Saudi Arabia introduced tourist visas to citizens from 49 countries making the Kingdom more accessible than ever with the UNESCO World Heritage site at Hegra in AlUla among those featured in a global marketing campaign.

The festival is part of the Cultural Manifesto that was launched by the festival organisers, the Royal Commission for AlUla, in Paris in October as part of a long-term strategy to transform the region and open the region as a global living museum and place of culture, heritage and the arts.

NEOM enters strategic partnership with SAUDIA to promote the newest tourism destination

The national carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has entered a strategic partnership with NEOM Co. in a wide-ranging agreement to work together on promoting NEOM as a top location for tourists worldwide.

Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed in Riyadh today, SAUDIA will work with NEOM to create worldwide awareness of the Kingdom's giga project. Both parties also agreed to collaborate to maximize exposure of NEOM, a key component of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 economic diversification plan.

In addition, both parties agreed that SAUDIA Holidays will develop products and packaged experiences for visitors, exploiting the competitive advantage of SAUDIA's global network covering 94 destinations.

Saudi Airlines starts flights to Marrakesh and Athens

Saudi Airlines has launched a second international destination, Marrakech, less than 24 hours after its launch to Athens. On Thursday, June 6, it launched its first direct and regular flights to Marrakesh, the second destination in the Kingdom of Morocco after Casablanca. 3) weekly flights in one direction from Jeddah, and was inaugurated at the dawn of the day in the presence of the Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser and a number of officials of the operational sectors in "Saudi" and government agencies operating at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

Etihad Airways and Saudia to build on existing codeshare partnership

Photo Saudia

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi national flag carrier, Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA), announced positive growth in traffic since their codeshare partnership began in November 2018.

Jointly, Etihad and SAUDIA have flown over 16,000 guests across the partnership, solidifying the airlines’ commitment to growing inbound business and tourism in their respective markets. 

Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group said: “The close and expanding partnership between Etihad and Saudia is giving us a unique opportunity to build on the deep ties that exist between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, As the national airline of the UAE, this is - a role we are extremely proud to play.

“With greater choice now available, more flexibility across both our schedules, and world-leading products and services, together, we now fly approximately 150 guests per day across each other’s networks. Our plan is to grow this number considerably through expansion of the codeshare agreement in the coming months, and to deliver more benefits to our customers.”

Photo Etihad

The codeshare agreement has seen ‘EY’ and ‘SV’ codes already placed on 14 routes with the addition of Vienna this week. In the coming months, Etihad will place its ‘EY’ code on, Tunis, Sharm El Sheikh and Alexandria. At the same time, Saudia will place its ‘SV’ code on Etihad flights to Tokyo, Nagoya, and Baku. Phase two for the ‘EY’ code will include Algiers, Dhaka and Erbil. And Phase two for the ‘SV’ code will include Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Moscow, Dusseldorf, Hong Kong, Kathmandu, Lagos, Minsk, Rabat, Astana, and more points in India.

Saudia flight returns to Jeddah after passenger forgets her .................... baby!

Photo Saudia

A Saudia flight from Jeddah to Kuala Lumpur had to turn back to its Saudi Arabian base after one of the passengers became anxious - not for a medical reason but because the lady had left her baby at the airport.

Flight SV832A had just set off from Jeddah, however, the passenger told the cabin crew that she had left something important behind - her baby.  The crew then informed the pilots and they asked air traffic control for permission to return to the airport.

The news of the absent-minded passenger and the unusual reason to request a return to base for the aircraft only came to light after the radio conversation between the pilot and ATC was uploaded to social media.

The video has had more than  30,000 views and init can be heard part of the conversation, “May God be with us. Can we come back or what?” the pilot asks.

“This flight is requesting to come back…a passenger forgot her baby in the waiting area, the poor thing,” an ATC agent says.  The pilot is then asked again for the reason he wants to return, he replies, "We told you, a passenger left her baby in the terminal and refuses to continue the flight."

"Ok, head back to the gate," says ATC. "This is totally a new one for us!"

Saudia halts Toronto flights after diplomatic spat.

The national airline of Saudi Arabia, Saudia has confirmed it has now suspended flights to and from Toronto, Canada following a series of measures the Saudi Kingdom instigated this week as the diplomatic tensions between the two nations intensify.

The Saudi's have frozen new trade and investments with Canada after the Canadian government in Ottawa urged Riyadh to free arrested civil rights activists. The kingdom also recalled its ambassador to Canada as well as telling the Canadian ambassador to leave the country within 24 hours.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said, “Canada will always stand up for human rights in Canada and around the world, and women’s rights are human rights.”  Currently, the trading relationship between the two nations is worth nearly $4 billion a year and the new diplomatic tensions put in jeopardy a  $13 billion defence contract.