Company Insights Saudia Aviation Saudia Overview Saudia, formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, is the state-owned flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. It started out in 1945 with a single twin-engine DC-3 (Dakota) HZ-AAX gifted to King Abdul Aziz by US President Franklin D Roosevelt. Today Saudia has more than 140 aircraft operated to over 100 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and US. Saudia’s main hubs are the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which it plans to move out of by 2030. Saudia has been part of the SkyTeam airline alliance since 2012 and is a founding member of the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization. Saudia’s parent company Saudia Group plans to increase its fleet to 300 aircraft by the end of 2032. In May 2024 it ordered 105 Airbus A320-family narrowbody jets, the largest deal in the kingdom’s aviation history, with around half going to Saudia and half to Saudia’s low-cost sister airline Flyadeal. It also placed an order in 2023 for 39 widebody Boeing 787s, with an option for a further 10. In July 2024 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. Saudia News Aviation Middle East-Europe is ‘fastest-growing route for air cargo’ The Middle East-Europe route for air cargo was the fastest growing in the world in October, according to International Air Transport Association figures. Annual growth in cargo tonne-kilometres stood at 15.3 percent in October, IATA said. The global average is 9.8 percent and the Middle East average is 4.5 percent. The Middle East-Europe route has […] December 3, 2024 Analysis Aviation Riyadh Air secures unprecedented number of airport slots Riyadh Air has secured more than 2,500 slots at Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, positioning itself as the fourth-largest carrier at the capital’s main gateway as it prepares to launch operations in the summer 2025 season, according to filings by Airport Coordination Limited. The allocation marks a striking start for the state-backed carrier, which aims […] November 25, 2024 Tourism Saudi travel firm targets Chinese ahead of IPO Saudi Arabia is hoping to attract 5 million Chinese tourists by 2030 as part of a push that is also targeting Russia, Germany, Italy and the UK, leading tour operator Almosafer said on Wednesday, flagging a likely IPO within two years. “China is the top tourist source market and you really need to have a […] November 21, 2024 Aviation Flyadeal to confirm wide-body order by year end Saudi Arabia’s low-cost airline Flyadeal is set to make a decision on its wide-body aircraft order before the end of the year, with up to 15 planes potentially joining its fleet. CEO Steven Greenway confirmed on Wednesday that the order will be made up of repurposed 787s from parent company Saudia or brand-new aircraft from […] November 20, 2024 Aviation Saudia to receive flying taxis despite Lilium’s insolvency Saudi national carrier Saudia still plans to receive some of its 50-plane order of pilotless electric flying vehicles from Lilium despite the German company’s intention to file for insolvency. “We are in close coordination with the Lilium leadership team. We are expecting to receive the first jets in the second half of 2026, as per […] November 7, 2024 Aviation Saudi Arabia and US expand aviation deal to include cargo Saudi Arabia and the US have expanded their bilateral aviation agreement to allow seventh freedom traffic rights for all-cargo flights. Seventh freedom allows airlines to carry on flights that originate in a foreign country, bypass its home country, and deposit the cargo or passengers at another international destination. The amendment will allow Saudi Arabian airlines […] November 6, 2024 Aviation Saudia reports 10 percent increase in passengers 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 […] October 29, 2024 Logistics More freighters on order at Emirates Emirates, Dubai’s flagship airline, has ordered more freighters in a push to expand its cargo operations, reports in local and international media said. The airline has ordered five Boeing 777 freighters, which are due to be delivered from 2025/2026 and brings the total number of 777 freighters on order to 14. “Demand for Emirates’ air […] October 21, 2024 Aviation Saudia prepares to launch electric jet service Saudia Airlines’ electric jet plane is the first step towards zero-carbon commercial flights in medium-sized planes, according to its German manufacturer Lilium. Daniel Wiegand, co-founder and chief engineer for innovation at Lilium, said both parties were looking beyond the initial sale of 50 Lilium jets, which Saudia bought for at least $7 million each, with […] October 14, 2024 Opinion Business of Sport Qatar scores Champions League deal in battle for Gulf skies Qatar Airways has added a new trophy to its prestigious sponsorship collection September 23, 2024 Posts navigation 1 2 … 11 Next
Aviation Middle East-Europe is ‘fastest-growing route for air cargo’ The Middle East-Europe route for air cargo was the fastest growing in the world in October, according to International Air Transport Association figures. Annual growth in cargo tonne-kilometres stood at 15.3 percent in October, IATA said. The global average is 9.8 percent and the Middle East average is 4.5 percent. The Middle East-Europe route has […] December 3, 2024
Analysis Aviation Riyadh Air secures unprecedented number of airport slots Riyadh Air has secured more than 2,500 slots at Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, positioning itself as the fourth-largest carrier at the capital’s main gateway as it prepares to launch operations in the summer 2025 season, according to filings by Airport Coordination Limited. The allocation marks a striking start for the state-backed carrier, which aims […] November 25, 2024
Tourism Saudi travel firm targets Chinese ahead of IPO Saudi Arabia is hoping to attract 5 million Chinese tourists by 2030 as part of a push that is also targeting Russia, Germany, Italy and the UK, leading tour operator Almosafer said on Wednesday, flagging a likely IPO within two years. “China is the top tourist source market and you really need to have a […] November 21, 2024
Aviation Flyadeal to confirm wide-body order by year end Saudi Arabia’s low-cost airline Flyadeal is set to make a decision on its wide-body aircraft order before the end of the year, with up to 15 planes potentially joining its fleet. CEO Steven Greenway confirmed on Wednesday that the order will be made up of repurposed 787s from parent company Saudia or brand-new aircraft from […] November 20, 2024
Aviation Saudia to receive flying taxis despite Lilium’s insolvency Saudi national carrier Saudia still plans to receive some of its 50-plane order of pilotless electric flying vehicles from Lilium despite the German company’s intention to file for insolvency. “We are in close coordination with the Lilium leadership team. We are expecting to receive the first jets in the second half of 2026, as per […] November 7, 2024
Aviation Saudi Arabia and US expand aviation deal to include cargo Saudi Arabia and the US have expanded their bilateral aviation agreement to allow seventh freedom traffic rights for all-cargo flights. Seventh freedom allows airlines to carry on flights that originate in a foreign country, bypass its home country, and deposit the cargo or passengers at another international destination. The amendment will allow Saudi Arabian airlines […] November 6, 2024
Aviation Saudia reports 10 percent increase in passengers 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 […] October 29, 2024
Logistics More freighters on order at Emirates Emirates, Dubai’s flagship airline, has ordered more freighters in a push to expand its cargo operations, reports in local and international media said. The airline has ordered five Boeing 777 freighters, which are due to be delivered from 2025/2026 and brings the total number of 777 freighters on order to 14. “Demand for Emirates’ air […] October 21, 2024
Aviation Saudia prepares to launch electric jet service Saudia Airlines’ electric jet plane is the first step towards zero-carbon commercial flights in medium-sized planes, according to its German manufacturer Lilium. Daniel Wiegand, co-founder and chief engineer for innovation at Lilium, said both parties were looking beyond the initial sale of 50 Lilium jets, which Saudia bought for at least $7 million each, with […] October 14, 2024
Opinion Business of Sport Qatar scores Champions League deal in battle for Gulf skies Qatar Airways has added a new trophy to its prestigious sponsorship collection September 23, 2024
