JEDDAH – flynas Haj & Umrah, a part of flynas – the Saudi Arabia’s national carrier –  is planning a massive expansion during 2014 and has already started with three weekly flights from Jeddah to Jakarta, which started on Jan. 1 of this year, operating Boeing 747-400 aircraft with 15 Business class and 460 Economy class seats.



“The New route to Jakarta is highly important to flynas since Indonesia is home to more than 209 million Muslims, among the largest countries with Muslim Populations in the world,” said Abdulnasser Abu Kassim, CEO of flynas Haj and Umrah. “Therefore it is a strategic start for our 2014 expansion plans and in the very near future we shall be announcing more flights to serve more markets.”



Ahmed Sultan, recently appointed as Deputy CEO of flynas Hajj and Umrah, said: “We have received a large number of requests from travel agents in different countries around the world showing their keen interests  to becoming  our Passenger Sales Agent (PSA)  for flynas Haj and Umrah. We are currently evaluating the applications and we are aiming to finalize the appointment procedures by end of the first quarter of 2014.”



The increase in the number of countries served by flynas Haj and Umrah is a key part of flynas’  20X20 strategy, targeting 20 million passengers yearly by 2020, which includes widening its scope in terms of customer segmentation and flynas Haj & Umrah will be a valuable addition by providing convenient and comfortable direct flights for pilgrims visiting the holy cities.



Since 2009, flynas Haj and Umrah has carried more than half a million passengers on 1,295 flights, with the highest growth in the year 2013 in terms of carrying Umrah pilgrims to and from Saudi Arabia. In recognition of its services, flynas Haj & Umrah has been awarded with various accolades from the Governments of different Countries for its impeccable services and going extra miles in pursuits of its perfection. — SG