NEWS l Saudi Arabian Aviation/Airports

[Mesch]

*in Mulaida not Buraidah.

And couldn't they find any other airport for the honors?

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Originally Posted by Mesch

*in Mulaida not Buraidah.

And couldn't they find any other airport for the honors?

The others have been booked already...

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Saudia boosts its new fleet

Saudi Arabian Airlines has received a new Boeing 777 ER300 aircraft as part of its new 20 aircraft fleet from the aircraft manufacturer.

Saudia is about to expand its fleet with dozens of new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus in order to increase its domestic and international flights.

Abdul Aziz Al-Hazmi, deputy director general, said this is the fifth Boeing 777 received and it will be added to the 57 other new aircraft.

He said choosing the aircraft models is done according to a strategic plan to update the fleet in a way that meets increasing operational requirements in both domestic and international sectors.

The new aircraft received by the company has a capacity of 314 seats of which 30 are for business class.

Saudia will receive eight more Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

Saudia launched recently its three-month-long summer plan offering more flights to major domestic and international destinations including New York, Washington, London, Paris, Kuala Lumpur and Geneva to meet the rush of the peak holiday season.

The summer season, which Saudia’s Director General Khaled Al-Molhem described as a big challenge to the airline, began on June 6 with the airline operating 504 flights, including 328 in the domestic sector.

As part of preparations for the season, Saudia has increased the number of employees at its call center to enable passengers to make quick reservations and purchase tickets.

Self-service facilities through Saudia’s website and self-service machines at airports and malls are also offered.

Saudia will operate 12 flights weekly from Riyadh and Jeddah to New York and Washington this summer, offering 3,744 seats a week.

There will be eight flights weekly to Paris from Riyadh and Jeddah offering 2,384 seats, six flights to Milan, six flights to Frankfurt and 11 flights to Geneva.

It will operate 14 flights weekly from Riyadh, Jeddah and Madinah to Istanbul offering 3,010 seats.

London being one of the major tourist destinations of Saudis, the airline will operate 13 flights from Riyadh and Jeddah to the British capital, offering a total of 4,056 seats.

It plans to operate 12 flights weekly to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur offering 4,956 seats, 69 flights to Dubai with 13,370 seats, eight flights to Addis Ababa and four flights to Tunis.

[Mesch]

I heard Qatar Airways are planning a domestic expansion in SA. Any news on that, Ahmed?

[lady gaga]

Yeah I heard it this morning

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Originally Posted by Mesch

I heard Qatar Airways are planning a domestic expansion in SA. Any news on that, Ahmed?

Yep, they are planning for it. Here is more info:

Qatar Airways plans to launch domestic airline in Saudi Arabia

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Air carrier license: 7 firms to present offers

Seven Saudi and foreign companies have qualified for the right to present their offers to secure a license to operate both domestic and international services to and from Saudi Arabia.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has chosen these companies out of a total 14 vying to win the Kingdom’s third air carrier license. They included consortia comprising Saudi, GCC and Chinese companies.

GACA has started presenting requests for proposal to qualified companies effective from Sunday, according to a statement from the authority.

The statement added: “The procedures of qualification were completed with the support of an international expert company that looked into the companies’ profiles, including their technical capabilities, substantial experience in air transport and financial capabilities to establish and operate an aviation company viably. “GACA then shortlisted the most qualified among them to present their offers.”

The proposal requests furnished qualified bidders with more details and specific conditions for winning the license.

It contained detailed information about the airports, destination points, volume of traffic and procedures as well as terms and conditions for choosing the winner. Once the proposal files were submitted to the qualified companies, GACA would provide documented feedback on the files to them during a meeting involving both parties in August.

The statement added: “GACA will provide clarifications to all their queries to help them prepare their offers.”
GACA is expected to announce the name of the licensed company by the end of September.

GACA spokesman Khaled Al-Khaibary said earlier the licensed company would begin offering services by April 2013.

The company will have the freedom to choose any Saudi airport as its hub and also to operate international flights.

In January, GACA invited a letter of intent from aviation companies to take part in the bid for winning the license.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

US firm wins deal to power Nasair fleet

US-based aerospace technology firm Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation has won a contract to supply power units to Saudi Arabia's Nasair.

It has been selected to install its APS3200 Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) on Nasair's future purchased and leased Airbus A320 series aircraft and to retrofit Nasair's nine current A320 aircraft fleet.

Nasair has also selected Hamilton Sundstrand for a long-term fixed price agreement for the maintenance of its APS3200s for a period of ten years, the company said in a statement.

"Hamilton Sundstrand is pleased to be selected by Nasair to support its A320 APU needs," said Eileen Drake, vice president and general manager, Hamilton Sundstrand Auxiliary Power Systems.

"Our APS3200 APU has proven itself through its extensive airline customer base offering lower life-cycle costs, lower emissions and fuel consumption."
Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, group CEO of NAS Holding, added: "We are very pleased to introduce Hamilton Sundstrand APUs into our Airbus fleet and look forward to an enduring relationship for many years to come."

Hamilton Sundstrand has delivered more than 1,800 APS3200 APUs to more than 155 operators for their fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft, consistently growing market share to approximately 40 percent of the worldwide A320 family in service.

Nasair, launched in 2007, is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and carries more than five million customers, now operating over 450 weekly flights. Their fleet consists of 15 aircraft covering 27 destinations.

With 2011 revenues of $6.2bn, Hamilton Sundstrand is among the world's largest suppliers of technologically advanced aerospace and industrial products. It is also a major supplier for international space programmes.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

UAE airlines boost Saudi routes ahead of Ramadan

UAE carriers have boosted their Ramadan schedules to Saudi Arabia to cater for the annual increase in demand during the Muslim holy month.

UAE carriers have boosted their Ramadan schedules to Saudi Arabia to cater for the annual increase in demand during the Muslim holy month, while travel agents have seen a healthy rise in holiday bookings over the period.

Dubai’s Emirates Airline will add 73 additional flights to its Saudi schedule over the Ramadan period, with Jeddah - the gateway for Hajj pilgrimages to Makkah - getting an additional 59 flights.

“There is a high demand for travel to the kingdom from across our network,” said Ahmed Khoory, Emirates' senior vice president, commercial operations, Gulf, Middle East and Iran.

A spokesperson from Etihad Airways confirmed the Abu Dhabi carrier is planning an extra nine flights to Jeddah over Ramadan on top of its normal schedule.

Basel Abu Alrub, managing partner of the Utravel agency in Dubai said “airline carriers, as well as low cost carriers, have added at least one extra flight a week to/from Saudi Arabia during the month of Ramadan”.

Alrub said those looking to spend the month overseas had also helped boost bookings.

“In general, non-Muslims and non-practicing Muslims are scheduling their holidays during the month of Ramadan and we have witnessed this as a trend this year because of the convenient dates of which Ramadan falls on: just before schools re-opens and business goes back to normal.

“This year travellers have been more open to experience new leisure destinations which are away from your traditional London and Paris, [such as] Croatia,” he added.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Why Saudi Arabia needs a new carrier

On the face of it, the domestic aviation market in Saudi Arabia looks like the land of opportunity. Not only are there 27 million inhabitants in the kingdom, but they are also live in the region’s second-largest country, behind Algeria. The country has an extensive network of airports — many of which are being upgraded under Saudi Arabia’s massive infrastructure plans — while alternative forms of public transport like buses and rail are limited, to say the least.

But despite all the potential, Saudi Arabia’s domestic market is a mess. The two players that are currently operating in the market — flag-carrier Saudia and low-cost Nasair — are hobbled by regulations that impose a fare cap on passengers. In the case of Nasair, according to CEO Francois Bouteiller, the carrier also suffers from the lack of fuel subsidies that are offered to its rival.

The situation is so bad that another carrier, Sama Airlines, shut up shop in 2010 after running up debts of around $250m. Even Saudia has not been immune to the general malaise affecting the kingdom’s aviation market. Despite its size, it has been overtaken by the exponential growth of the other Gulf super-carriers, and has been labouring through the process of listing its units since 2006. Its CEO, Khalid Al Molhem, was called before the Shoura Council — the kingdom’s highest consultative body — in April last year to discuss these issues.

Last year, however, things appeared to take a turn for the better. After the death of Prince Sultan, the crown prince — who had overseen the civil aviation brief as part of his portfolio as minister for defence and aviation — responsibility for GACA passed from the ministry of defence to a new authority that now directly reports to King Abdullah in his capacity as prime minister. Prince Fahd Bin Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Saud — an official with extensive previous experience in the industry — took over the new authority and appears to have been the leading proponent behind GACA’s move to open up the market to new players from September this year.

In total, fourteen companies applied for a new licence from GACA — a number that was whittled down to seven last week. These include “Saudi-Chinese and Saudi-Gulf consortia”, but the names of these companies have not been released.

Qatar Airways is the only company that has made its ambitions to enter the Saudi market clear. In a carefully worded statement released a couple of weeks ago, the Doha-based airline “expressed an interest” but also referred to the two main concerns — the fare cap and the high fuel price — that are crippling Saudia and Nasair. The underlying message was obvious: if these issues remain, then Qatar Airways could well withdraw its interest.

The fact that Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker confirmed last Wednesday that the airline would go ahead and bid for the licence seems to indicate that some sort of deal has been reached with GACA. It will now be interesting to see which of the other Gulf players — which have largely remained silent on the issue — will now take the jump. Emirates may well consider that it has enough on its plate at the moment, and flydubai has already ruled itself out of the running. Etihad CEO James Hogan told Arabian Business last week that the airline was “monitoring” the situation, while Air Arabia’s extensive experience in setting up overseas hubs makes it a strong contender.

If Saudi Arabia does go ahead and relax restrictions for carriers operating domestically, then healthy competition will allow prices to settle at a point that is right for both the consumer and the airlines. It should also allow for a markedly better level of service — another benefit for the long-suffering Saudi public.

[everywhere]

China's HNA eyes Saudi skies
(WCARN.com, July 23)

China's HNA Group is bidding for a new airline license in Saudi Arabia, local media reported.
According to people familiar with the matter, seven companies including Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Bahrain Air, HNA Group, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Nesma Holding, and Falcon Express are bidding for licenses to operate domestic and international flights in the country.

more: http://www.wcarn.com/cache/news/20/20473.html

[lady gaga]

Lufthansa Increases Munich – Saudi Arabia Operation in S13

Lufthansa from 31MAR13 is increasing service to Saudi Arabia, as Munich – Riyadh – Jeddah operation increases from 3 to 5 weekly flights. This route sees Airbus A330-300 and A340-300 operating.

Schedule:

LH608 MUC1205 – 1825RUH1915 – 2055JED 343 136
LH608 MUC1205 – 1825RUH1915 – 2055JED 333 57

LH609 JED2225 – 2355RUH0045+1 – 0525+1MUC 343 136
LH609 JED2225 – 2355RUH0045+1 – 0525+1MUC 333 57

Source

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Saudi Arabia delays award of aviation licences

Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) has postponed awarding new carrier licences until the end of this year as it needs more time to evaluate the bids, it said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.

The winning bids were expected by the end of November.

"(GACA) needs more time to choose the best operating models after it completes the analysis and evaluation of the bids that were received from the companies," it said in the statement.

The licence, which 14 companies had applied for, is to operate both local and international flights. Qatar Airways, Bahrain Air and Gulf Air are among the firms in pre-qualified consortia bidding for the licence.

In July, Qatar Airways said it was in talks with GACA about opportunities to invest in the Saudi aviation sector.

Currently only two airlines, the national carrier Saudi Airlines and budget airline National Air Services (NAS), service a domestic market of around 27 million people.

But with a price cap on domestic flights, private airlines have struggled with their profit margins. In 2010, a third carrier, Sama Airlines, was forced to suspend its operations.

Saudi Airlines, which is undergoing a slow privatization process, receives fuel at subsidized prices unlike private carriers, allowing it to offset the limits of the ticket cost ceiling.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Nas Air to be profitable for first time in 2013

Saudi Arabian budget carrier Nas Air will be profitable next year for the first time since it started operations in 2007, the CEO of parent company National Air Services (Nas Holding) has said.

"Next year we are anticipating a real profit for Nas Air," Sulaiman Al Hamdan said in an interview with Arabian Business. The airline made a SAR72m profit in the third quarter of this year, but will end 2012 with a small loss, he said. Nas Air is currently the only low-cost airline operating out of the kingdom.

"For 2012 we have managed to reduce our losses by 70 percent compared to 2011," Hamdan said. "Fuel is one part. What we have done is improved our operational efficiencies. Our aircraft are flying now an average of 12 hours. We have improved the productivity of our crew, so that they're flying a range of 90 hours. We have improved our revenue by 28 percent."

The airline, which flies to six domestic routes within the kingdom and nineteen foreign destinations, has a 75 percent seat load factor, up from 62 percent in 2011, with an aim of boosting it to 80 percent, Hamdan said. It plans to add 50 percent more seats in 2013 by increasing flight frequencies, opening new routes and adding more aircraft to its fleet in the first six months of next year.

To cut costs Nas Air is also phasing out Brazilian-made Embraer aircraft from its fleet and moving solely to Airbus.

"Operating two types of aircraft is very costly from all aspects of maintenance, training, pilots and spare parts. It doesn't fit with the LCC (low-cost carrier) model," Hamdan said.

The Riyadh-based carrier, which is 37 percent owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Kingdom Holding, started operating in 2007 and has suffered consistent losses due to higher oil prices and political instability in the Arab world, causing it to withdraw from several countries. In 2010, Sama Airlines, another budget carrier that operated in Saudi Arabia, suspended operations after amassing over US$300m in losses.

Saudi Arabia plans to open up its aviation market by issuing a third operating licence by the end of this year for which 14 companies have applied. The licence will allow the carrier to operate both local and international flights. Qatar Airways, Bahrain Air and Gulf Air are among the airlines bidding for the licence.

Two criticisms of Saudi Arabia's aviation industry have been the fuel subsidies given to national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines and a cap on domestic fares, which have disadvantaged competitors.

Nas Air withdrew from India, Syria and Yemen and is considering flying to destinations like Ethiopia, Iran and Iraq as part of its strategy to operate within a three-and-a-half-hour radius from its base in Saudi Arabia, Hamdan said.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

flydubai set to launch new Saudi route in Feb

Low cost carrier flydubai said on Monday it was planning to launch a new route to Saudi Arabia next month.

Dubai's budget airline said in a statement it will begin operating two flights a week to Ha’il, its ninth destination in the Gulf kingdom.

Flights to Ha’il, an oasis city in Nejd in the north west of the country, will start on February 13.

The city contributes to a large percentage of the Kingdom's wheat, date and fruit production.

flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said: “As we remain committed to better serve the Saudi market, we are grateful to the authorities for their continuous support of flydubai.

"The start of this service reaffirms our commitment to serve regional airports with direct flights to Dubai. We look forward to serving passengers from Ha’il, which is becoming increasing important to the kingdom’s economy.”

flydubai first launched services to Saudi Arabia in November 2010, and now serves Riyadh, Jeddah, Abha Yanbu, Dammam, Gassim, Tabuk and Taif.

The carrier now serves a network of more than 50 destinations across 32 countries across the GCC, Middle East, North Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe.

Flights to Ha’il will operate on Wednesdays and Fridays with return trip fares starting at AED1,000.

Separately, Qatar Airways on Monday launched its first new route of 2013 with the introduction of scheduled services to Gassim in Saudi Arabia.

The Doha – Gassim route becomes the carrier’s fifth gateway in the kingdom, joining already established and popular routes of Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Dammam.

With Gassim, the number of flights to Saudi Arabia rises from 61 to 65 frequencies each week.