JEDDAH, 9 November 2005 — Saudi Arabian Airlines will receive next month first two planes of the 15 new Embraer aircraft it ordered last April, its Director General Dr. Khaled Ben-Bakr announced yesterday. He said the new fleet of aircraft would improve the airline’s services.

Ben-Bakr signed a deal worth $400 million with Mauricio Botelho, president and CEO of Brazil’s Embraer aircraft company to purchase the new planes on April 27. The deal included establishment of a maintenance center.

The Embraer 170, which according to Dr. Ben-Bakr, is a technically advanced aircraft, which is manufactured with the support of specialized American, Japanese, French and Spanish companies.

As per the deal, Saudia will receive the first two aircraft in December and another two in January. “Later on we’ll receive one aircraft every month until all the 15 planes are delivered,” the Saudia chief said.

The national carrier will use the Embraer to add frequencies on existing regional and domestic flights and eventually develop mini-hubs in the northern city of Hail and the southern resort city of Abha.

First Pictures of the new Embraer-170

http://www.almoso3h.com/up/uploading/HZAEA1.jpg


http://www.almoso3h.com/up/uploading/HZAEA2.jpg

The Embraer 170 is a success , yet very small , i guess it will replace Saudia's existing MD's airplanes.

Saudi should replace their 737's. Some of them are more than 30 plus years old.

Yeah , thats why, the idea is to bring smaller planes but having more frequent flights a day..

I think the 737s were put out of service few years ago. The new Embraer are to be used for domestic flights especially to the smaller airports. They are also to replace the costly MDs.

There are plans to replace some of the 747s and Airbus 600s which are more than 20 years old. With what? I don’t know!

Btw, Aramco Airlines and Khayalah airlines use 737s.

cool. i didnt know aramco had an airline, but actually khayala airlines use Airbus A319 configured into 44 seats. Its like a VIP airline.

Only 2 737-200s are still in use. They're there because the MD90s can't operate to certain airports (like Bisha) until upgrades are made to the runway.

The E170 is a great plane. It's perfect for Saudia's needs. Small, economical, but comfortable inside (the seats and legroom is bigger than in the 737). They'll take over thinner routes + they'll be used to add frequency to medium density routes.

As for MD90s, they're not going anywhere. They're too new to be dumped (some are only 5 years old), and they have no resale value (particularly because the Saudia ones are unique: they're the only MD90s with the enhanced cockpit). In fact, with the arrival of the Embraers, you'll see a lot more of them on international shorthaul duty.

The Airbus A300-600 is already being phased out, most routes that had them (like Riyadh-Dammam) have MD90s now. The 747-100s are next to get the axe.

As to what will replace them? Nothing in the short term. They're downgauging their fleet in preference to frequency.

cool. i didnt know aramco had an airline, but actually khayala airlines use Airbus A319 configured into 44 seats. Its like a VIP airline.
Yeah, Aramco has 5 next generation 737s. They operate regular shuttles between Aramco sites / large cities.

they should buy the A320 ;)

Yeah, Aramco has 5 next generation 737s. They operate regular shuttles between Aramco sites / large cities.


Very interesting. By the way, just for a fact, I hear Aramco itself is the size of Bahrain, and that King Fahd Airport, is bigger than the size of Bahrain itself! But, I always thought Aramco was like a huge compound, but maybe its more than a city! Thanks for the info.

Dammam airport's boundary is gicantic, something like 700 sq km! But it is only an exclusion zone, the airport itself occupies a tiny percentage of that. Most of the land isn't even owned by the airport. Aramco has some pumping stations and pipelines running within the boundary.

As for Aramco, they don't occupy one site, they have many. You've got the headquarters in Dhahran (which is huge), and then you have large compounds scattered around the country. Some in large cities, and some in places like Abqaiq, Haradh, and Rabigh which are all Aramco towns.

The natural replacement for a 747 family would be a Long Range 777-300. taking range and capacity into consideration.

Do you use Lockhead Tristars still??

GEEEEEZZZZZZZ The one and only aircraft iknow it (air bus) :? :? :lurker:
masha allah alekm you know all thes models :okay:

Do you use Lockhead Tristars still??

they dont operate tristars anymore thankfully

I am wondering whether more plan purchases will be made first or will they first privatise then move for more planes?

I always though Lockhead only made war planes. Great new:D (its really important to have save airplanes :))

nitzomoe,

Why thankfully? The tristars were great planes. Far ahead of their time. It's a shame to see them parked in the desert.

Shayan,

The tristar was their last civil plane. They pulled out of the commercial business after the tristar programme nearly bankrupted them.