Saudi Arabian Airlines pavilion draws strong interest at the opening of ATM

Other visitors included aviation industry leaders such as Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways and other dignitaries.

As part of Saudi Arabian Airlines drive for further modernization and progress, Saudi Arabia's national carrier is showcasing its achievements in the Arabian Travel Market which kicked off in Dubai yesterday. A strong testimony of the Airline's commitment and continuous progress in implementing its strategic plan backed by intelligent market research is the $400 million self-financed agreement for the purchase of 15 Embraer aircraft. This confirms the Airline's far sighted vision and sound economic decisions. It has achieved unprecedented revenues in the past few years, marking a historical milestone for the Airline.

Dr. Khaled A. Ben-Bakr, Director General Saudi Arabian Airlines, explained that the Airline achieved SR 500 million in profits during 2005, an increase of 327% over the profit made four years ago. He said that Saudi Arabian Airlines carried more than 16,800,000 passengers in the same year while revenues reached SR 14,500,000 in 2005. Dr. Ben-Bakr added that the Airline made a series of achievements in various levels in 2005 which included a quantum leap in Cargo services where the Airline carried 287 million kilograms of consignments. The Airline also increased its seating capacity on both domestic and international flights.

His Excellency also highlighted the Airline's keen interest in developing its electronic based services such as SMS messaging on flight information, electronic ticketing, e-payment and electronic boarding pass dispensing. Dr. Ben-Bakr added that the number of Saudi Arabian Airlines stations that are connected to the international luggage search system increased to 80 domestic and international stations.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabian Airlines developed its services for Pilgrims by increasing its operational capabilities. In 1426 H, the Airline carried 1,004,764 pilgrims on both its arrival and departure flights making it the largest in its history. As for Umrah, Saudi Arabian Airlines carried 932,000 Umrah performers from 65 international stations.

The Director General explained that Saudi Arabian Airlines Catering, which is one of he most vital service sectors of the Airline, grew by leaps and bounds producing more than 19 million meals served on more than 99,000 flights with 100% on-time delivery rates conforming to the highest health standards. Saudi Arabian Airlines Catering provides services to more than 50 international airlines and maintains high standards of quality controls utilizing state-of-the-art equipment employed internationally in the airline catering business.

The Airline developed its voice communications systems to a digitally based one to accommodate more lines and quicker access to networks using fiber optic technology. To ensure additional quality, a new program was utilized to meticulously check that international standards and practices are implemented on all catering services. Saudi Arabian Airlines received many awards from various airlines such as British Airways, Singapore Airlines, in addition to many awards in the field of food production and safety.

H.E. Dr. Ben-Bakr praised the achievement of The Prince Sultan Aviation Academy, an institution that provides the most advanced aviation training programs and air transport safety for local and international students from various airlines. In a short period, the Academy has accomplished great stride in the training of

operational safety standards and training pilots on simulators. The Aviation Safety Department trained more than 18,859 students of whom 6,080 were trained as cabin crew and 2,430 as cockpit crew, and 2,584 on simulators. The Academy developed skills of more than 5,994 crew members, 384 trainees, and 1,387 ground crew on-support services on Aviation Sciences reaching a total of 32,559 training hours.