RIYADH: By flying 2,906,070 guests in month of April, the most number of passengers flown in a single month, Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) achieved a new record in its 72 year history of flying .The figures reflect consistent growth in domestic and international sectors at a time when the carrier is undergoing expansion across its fleet and route network. In 2016, 30 million guests flew with Saudia.
As of the beginning of this year, the airline has achieved one third of that figure, flying 10,007,000 by April month-end. Saudia has made significant investments in new onboard product features, technological applications and customer service, which has been positively received by our guests.
New aircraft, additional capacity on existing routes and new destinations are contributing to the additional demand across Saudia’s international sectors. Last year the airline inducted a mix of 27 new state-of-the-art narrow and widebody aircraft, including Boeing 777-300ERs, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, Airbus 330-300 Regionals and Airbus 320s.
This year the fleet expansion continues, where Saudia has already received 11 out of 32 new aircraft scheduled to be received this year (another record for Saudia for the largest number in a single year) seeing Saudia reach an average fleet age of 3.75 years by year end. Currently at 134 aircraft, by 2020, the airline plans to reach 200.
Saudia Airlines director general, Saleh Al-Jasser said: “We welcome all passengers flying on board with Saudia and thank you for the continued support as we grow our services.
“The expansion across the network is part of our ongoing commitment and dedication to provide best-in-class service and a convenient travel network for our guests flying with Saudia for business and leisure.”
Saudia operates to four continents, covering 86 destinations (27 domestic and 59 international) from its main hubs in Riyadh and Jeddah.
Two new destinations have been added to the airline’s network this year: Multan (Pakistan) and Portsudan (Sudan) on April 1 and April 7 respectively. In 2016, four new routes were introduced: Maldives, Munich, Ankara and Algiers.
Saudia is a member of the SKTEAM alliance and through the partnership connects guests to the alliance network of 1062 destinations in 177 countries.
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