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Saudia reports 10 percent increase in passengers

Passengers and a Saudia jet at Jeddah airport. The Jeddah-Riyadh route is the sixth most popular domestic airline route in the world Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/ZUMA/alamy via Reuters
Passengers and a Saudia jet at Jeddah airport. The Jeddah-Riyadh route is the sixth most popular domestic airline route in the world
  • 9m passengers carried in Q3
  • Fleet comprises 143 aircraft
  • Kingdom second-busiest in Gulf

Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s national flag carrier, transported more than nine million passengers during the third quarter of 2024, a 10 percent increase on the same period last year. 

Saudia said it operated more than 49,500 flights, a 9 percent increase from last year, with an on-time performance rate of 87.8 percent. 

Five million of its passengers flew on more than 21,900 international flights, while four million flew on 27,500 domestic flights. 

“Our new strategy meticulously addresses every aspect of air travel – from security and safety to expanding seating capacity to meet growing demand,” said Ibrahim Al-Omar, director general of Saudia Group. 

Saudia’s current fleet comprises 89 Airbus and 54 Boeing aircraft. 

In May Saudia Group ordered 105 Airbus A320-family narrowbody jets, the largest deal in the kingdom’s aviation history.

Saudia will take delivery of 54 A321neos, with the remaining 51 (39 A321neo and 12 A320neo) going to its sister airline, low-cost carrier Flyadeal

It also placed an order in 2023 for 39 widebody Boeing 787s in 2023, with an option for a further 10. 

It said the orders will “significantly expand flight offerings and seating capacity” across its network of more than 100 destinations.

In July Saudia placed an order with Germany’s Lilium to buy at least 50 pilotless electric flying vehicles, which are due to start arriving in 2026.

Aviation consultancy OAG said Jeddah-Riyadh is the sixth most popular domestic airline route in the world, with 731,786 seats in October.

Saudi Arabia is the second busiest in the Middle East, behind the UAE, with almost six million seats in October, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. The UAE had 7,480,000 seats this month (up 9 percent). 

Bahrain had the fastest growth rate in the region this month, with 12 percent, OAG said.