Laura Bashraheel

Saudi Gazette





DESPITE the increasing demand on internal flights around 33 airports in Saudi Arabia, there are only two airlines operating on domestic routes. The three major cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam have a very steep demand on flights and travelers have to book their flights weeks in advance to be able to find a seat. But there will be some respite for air travelers with Qatar Airways and Gulf Air having been recently awarded licenses to operate domestic flights in Saudi Arabia, the first foreign airlines to win such licenses in the Kingdom.

Currenlty only the national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines and budget airline National Air Services (nasair) have serviced a domestic market of around 27 million people. The two winning companies are expected to operate soon within the next few months.

Qatar Airways currently has orders worth over $50 billion for more than 250 aircraft, including Boeing 787s, 777s, Airbus A350s, A380s and A320 family of aircraft. In addition to winning Skytrax’s prestigious Airline of the Year 2011 and 2012, Qatar Airways was named Best Airline in the Middle East for the seventh year in a row, and its Premium Terminal at Doha International Airport was named Best Premium Service Airport for the second consecutive year in 2012.

Fully owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain through Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, Gulf Air is a major international airline serving over 40 destinations worldwide.

With the two airlines entering the Saudi market soon, competition between airlines is expected to be keen, especially that Saudi Arabian Airlines is considered and still remains the No. 1 choice for domestic flights. On the other hand, speculations arise of how long those two airlines could last after Sama airlines, which had entered the domestic market briefly, stopped operating completely in 2010. Sama airlines lasted for three years ending any competition that would have arisen in this sector.

Sama was founded in 2007 by Investment Enterprises Ltd with an initial consolidated investment from 30 major Saudi private and institutional investors. The airlines was initially focusing on domestic flights, which was expanded by serving international destinations during 2008. Another major restructuring occurred during 2009 when the airline’s timetables were optimized towards high aircraft utilization, in an attempt to improve the financial results of the company (which also saw unprofitable routes being dropped, and frequencies for successful destinations being increased).

In 2010, the airline was forced to shut down because of budgetary constraints arising out of poor funding, which had resulted in a $266 million loss

At that time, the airline, which received SR200 million as a loan from the government to cover fuel costs and 500 million riyals from shareholders, fell short of SR300 million to keep the operations afloat. Sama faced competition from the state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines, which received government support and subsidized fuel.

Nasair, meanwhile, operates to around 23 international destinations and eight internal destinations. Weekends are considered the most hectic schedule for internal flights especially between Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. During holidays and Umrah and Haj seasons, airports are chaotic every year without coming up with a solution to the problem.

Back in November 2012, the last Haj season, the north and south terminals of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah have witnessed severe crowding due to a large number of passenger departures coinciding with the start of the working week after of the Haj and Eid Al-Adha holidays.

It was reported that passengers could not move in the south terminal because of the piles of luggage inside and outside the terminal. Many flights departing to other Saudi cities were delayed and the fate of other flights was uncertain, while airport staff declined to give any clarification.

Every year the same thing happens and nothing is done. Having two new airlines in the market better services could be expected by people since Saudi Arabian Airlines is supported by the government and fair competition will be in favor of the passengers.

Saudia carried 24 million passengers last year, 2.85 million or 13.3 percent more than in 2011. The airline operated a record 171,341 flights during the year, 8 percent more than the 158,449 flights in 2011.