After navigating the turbulent two years of the pandemic, Saudi Arabia’s national flag carrier Saudia is adding routes, rolling out new services and enjoying rapid growth in passenger volumes.
“The recovery is happening much faster than forecast,” says Captain Ibrahim S Koshy, a former Saudia pilot who is now the airline’s CEO. “We are now seeing very strong international and domestic traffic.”
A decade ago, Saudia’s main job was to fly Muslim tourists in and out of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina for the Umrah and Hajj pilgrimages. Today, events such as the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Jeddah have put Saudi Arabia at the centre of the world’s leisure map. The country is also experiencing an unprecedented boom in tourism thanks to the development of extraordinary resorts along the Red Sea coast and in the Kingdom’s mountainous south. Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s far-reaching transformation plan, is targeting 100 million visitors by the end of the decade.
Saudia is responding rapidly to the emergence of this new source of demand. By 2030, the carrier plans to fly to 135 destinations, up from 90 currently. After signing a $3 billion financing agreement with banks in 2021, Koshy has placed orders for 35 narrow-body aircraft and is in discussions with Airbus and Boeing about wide-body orders.
“It is our responsibility from a commercial and national perspective to ensure we provide the capacity to deliver on Saudi Arabia’s tourism targets,” he says. “We consider ourselves to be an enabler of Vision 2030.”
At the same time as investing in new routes and adding to its fleet, Saudia is also improving the traveller experience on the ground and in the air. At the company’s hub at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah on the west coast, Saudia has opened the largest lounge of any member of the SkyTeam airline alliance.
With a chocolate bar, an ice cream bar, cigar room and cinema, no expense has been spared to give Saudia guests a travelling experience like no other.
“This is our main operational hub so we decided to do something really special,” Koshy says. “When I see people walk in, their jaws drop.”
Koshy pays close attention to feedback from guests and acts swiftly to meet their demands. Recognized by Skytrax as the Most Improved Airline in the world, Saudia is planning even more innovations in the near future. These include a personalized in-flight entertainment offering and a completely revamped loyalty programme.
“As we are going to be a major global player, we need to cater to our corporate clients and international travellers,” Koshy says. “We are undergoing a rapid transformation to earn the loyalty of all our international travellers.”
