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==In-flight services==
==In-flight services==
The in-flight magazine of Saudi Arabian Airlines is called ''Ahlan Wasahlan'' ({{lang-ar|أهلاً وسهلاً}} "Hello and Welcome"). No [[alcoholic beverage]]s or [[pork]] are served on board in accordance with [[Islamic dietary laws]].
The in-flight magazine of Saudi Arabian Airlines is called ''Ahlan Wasahlan'' ({{lang-ar|أهلاً وسهلاً}} "Hello and Welcome"). [[Alcoholic beverage]]s and [[pork]] are served on board in accordance with [[Islamic dietary laws]].


==Incidents and accidents==
==Incidents and accidents==

Revision as of 11:25, 16 November 2011

Saudi Arabian Airlines
الخطوط الجوية العربية السعودية
File:Saudi Arabian Airlines Logo.svg
IATA ICAO Call sign
SV SVA SAUDIA
Founded1945
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programAl-Fursan
AllianceSkyTeam (2012)
Fleet size128 (+38 Orders) Passengers Fleet
12 Cargo Fleet
8 Royal Fleet
Destinations90
Parent companySaudi Arabian government
HeadquartersJeddah, Saudi Arabia
Key people
Websitewww.saudiairlines.com

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Arabic: الخطوط الجوية العربية السعودية Al-Khuṭūṭ al-Jawwiyyah al-ʿArabiyyah al-Saʿūdiyyah ) is the flag carrier airline of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. It operates domestic and international scheduled flights to over 90 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Domestic and international charter flights are operated, mostly during Ramadan and the Hajj season.

The airline's main operational base is at Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED). Other major hubs are Riyadh-King Khalid International Airport (RUH), and Dammam-King Fahd International Airport (DMM). The new Dammam airport was opened for commercial use on 28 November 1999. Dhahran International Airport in use until then, has reverted to being used as a military base.

Saudi Arabian Airlines is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization. The airline used to be the largest carrier in the region, but because of the growth of other airports and airlines has become the third largest in 2006, behind Emirates and Etihad Airways.[citation needed]

History

A Convair 340 of the airline at Dhahran Airport in 1959.

When U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented a Douglas DC-3 as a gift to King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud in 1945, the event marked the Kingdom's gradual development of civil aviation. The nation's flag carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines was founded in September 1946 as a fully owned government agency under the control of the Ministry of Defense, with TWA running the airline under a management contract.

From the beginning, Jeddah-Kandara airport—very near the town centre—served as the flag carrier's main base. Among the airline's early operations was a special flight from Lydda in Palestine (today Lod in Israel, site of Ben-Gurion International Airport), a British Mandate at that time, to carry Hajj pilgrims to Jeddah. The airline used five DC-3 aircraft to launch scheduled operations on the Jeddah-Riyadh-Hofuf-Dhahran route in March 1947, followed by its first international service between Jeddah and Cairo also in that same month. Service to Damascus and Beirut followed in early 1948. The following year saw the first of five Bristol 170s being received. These aircraft offered the airline the flexibility of carrying both passengers and cargo.

The slow but steady growth continued during the 1950s and services were inaugurated to Istanbul, Karachi, Amman, Kuwait City, Asmara, and Port Sudan. The fleet also saw a small growth during the 1950s, with five DC-4s and ten Convair 340s, the first pressurized aircraft for the airline. In 1959, the airline's first maintenance center was inaugurated in Jeddah. Also during this decade, the very important air link between Jeddah and Riyadh saw improvement.

In 1962, the airline took delivery of two Boeing 720s, making history by becoming the second Middle Eastern airline to fly jet aircraft (Cyprus Airways was the first one with de Havilland Comet). On 19 February 1963, the airline became a registered company, with King Faisal of Saudi Arabia signing the papers that declared Saudi Arabian a fully independent company. DC-6s and Boeing 707s were later bought, and the airline joined the AACO, the Arab Air Carriers Organization. Services were started to Sharjah, Tehran, Khartoum, Bombay, Tripoli, Tunis, Rabat, Geneva, Frankfurt, and London.

In the 1970s, a new livery was introduced. The carrier's name was changed to Saudia on 1 April 1972. Boeing 737 and Fokker F-28 equipment was bought, with the 737s replacing the Douglas DC-9. The first all-cargo flights between Saudi Arabia and Europe were started, and Lockheed L-1011s and Fairchild FH-27s were introduced. New services, including the Arabian Express 'no reservation shuttle flights' between Jeddah and Riyadh. The Special Flight Services (SFS) was set up as a special unit of Saudia, and operates special flights for the Royal family and government agencies. Service was also started to Rome, Paris, Muscat, Kano, and Stockholm. The Pan Am / Saudia joint service between Dhahran and New York City started on 3 February 1979.

Some services opened during the 1980s for the airline, such as Saudia Catering. Flights were started to Athens, Bangkok, Dhaka, Mogadishu, Nairobi, New York City, Madrid, Singapore, Manila, Delhi, Islamabad, Seoul, Baghdad, Amsterdam, Colombo, Nice, Lahore, Brussels, Dakar, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei. Horizon Class, a business class service, was established to offer enhanced service to passengers. Cargo hubs were built at Brussels and Taipei. Airbus A300s, Boeing 747s, and Cessna Citations were also added to the fleet, the Citations for the SFS service. To conclude the decade, services were introduced in 1989 to Larnaca and Addis Ababa.

Saudi Arabian Airlines aircraft at Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport, Saudi Arabia.

In the 1990s, services were introduced to Orlando, Chennai, Asmara, Washington, D.C., Johannesburg, Alexandria, Milan, Málaga (seasonal), and Sanaa (resumption). Boeing 777s, MD-90s and MD-11s were introduced. New female flight attendant uniforms designed by Adnan Akbar were introduced. A new corporate identity was launched on 16 July 1996, featuring a sand coloured fuselage with contrasting dark blue tailfin, the centre of which featured a stylised representation of the House of Saud crest. The Saudia name was dropped in the identity revamp, with Saudi Arabian Airlines name used.

On 8 October 2000, Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the Saudi Minister of Defence & Aviation, signed a contract to conduct studies for the privatisation of Saudi Arabian Airlines. In preparation for this, the airline was restructured to allow non-core units—including Saudia catering, ground handling services and maintenance as well as the Prince Sultan Flight Academy in Jeddah—to be transformed into commercial units and profit centres. In April 2005, the Saudi government indicated that the airline may also lose its monopoly on domestic services.[1]

Profits

passengers and recorded a 14% rise in profits. In April the following year the airline ordered 15 Embraer E-170LR aircraft in a deal worth $400 million.

Privatization

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

In 2006 Saudi Airlines began the process, dividing itself into Strategic Business Units (SBU); the catering unit was the first to be privatized.[2] In August 2007, Saudi Arabia's Council of Ministers approved the conversion of strategic units into companies. It is planned that ground services, technical services, air cargo and the Prince Sultan Aviation Academy, as well as the catering unit, will become subsidiaries of a holding company.[3]

Destinations

A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747–368 taxiing at Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore. (2007)
Main article: Saudi Arabian Airlines destinations

Codeshare and Alliance

Saudi Arabian Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines (as of November 2010):

They will also become full member in SkyTeam from 2012 which will add more code shares to their network:[4]

Fleet

A Saudi Arabian Airlines Airbus A320 landing at Düsseldorf International Airport, Germany. (2010)
A Saudi Arabian Airlines McDonnell-Douglas MD-90 landing in Geneva International Airport, Switzerland
A Saudi Arabian Boeing 777-200ER landing in Zurich-Kloten Airport, Switzerland
A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747-412 during takeoff from Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan
A Saudi Arabian Cargo McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 at Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, Netherlands

Saudi Arabian Airlines operates the following aircraft (as of July 2011):[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Saudi Arabian Airlines
Aircraft Total Orders Passengers Notes
F J Y Total
Airbus A300-600 6 — Unknown 315 Operated by Onur Air
Airbus A320-200 33 2 0 24 96 120
12 120 132
Airbus A321-200 5 10 0 20 145 165
Airbus A330-200 2 0 0 0 326 326 Operated by Atlasjet
Airbus A330-300 12 4 0 36 262 298 4 operated by Onur Air
Boeing 747-300 8 — 36 0 388 424 1 operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic
1 stored at Jeddah
all being phased-out by October 2012
Boeing 747-400 12 — 0 32 402 434 4 operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic
2 operated by Phuket Air
2 operated by Orient Thai Airways
Boeing 757-200 2 — Unknown 250+ Operated by Atlasjet
Boeing 777-200ER 22 — 24 38 170 232
0 35 287 322
Boeing 777-300ER — 12 0 30 383 413[11] Delivery starting in January 2012
Boeing 787-9 — 8 TBA Delivery starting in 2015
Embraer E-170 15 — 0 6 60 66
McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 11 — 0 18 103 121 Saudi Airlines Will Leave 7 Aircraft in the Fleet to 2016 and use the Spare parts from the Other Aircraft .
Saudi Arabian Cargo
Airbus A310-300F 1 — N/A Operated by ULS Cargo [12]
Boeing 747-200F 3 — N/A One operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic
one operated by Southern Air
one operated by Veteran Avia
Boeing 747-400BCF 2 — N/A One operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic
one operated by World Airways
Boeing 747-400F 2 — N/A One operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic
one operated by Evergreen International
McDonnell Douglas MD-11F 4 —
N/A
Saudi Arabian Royal Flight [13]
Airbus A340-200X 1 — VIP Operated for govt.
Boeing 747-300 1 — VIP
Boeing 747-400 1 — VIP
Boeing 747SP 3 — VIP
Boeing 757–200 1 — VIP
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 1 — VIP Stored at Jeddah
Total 148 37


On its new introduced Boeing 777-300ER (designation — 773) Saudi Arabian is planning to have 7-abreast (2-3-2) business class and 10-abreast (3-4-3) economy class[11], using theese planes on medium-haul routes[11].

Induction of new aircraft

Saudi Arabian Airlines will receive 35 new Airbus airplanes by the end of this year 2011. The airline has so far received 32 A320-200s, eight A330-300s, and four A321s.[14]

Other aircraft

A Saudi Arabian Airlines Gulfstream IV at Edinburgh Airport, Scotland. (2009)

Saudi Arabian Airlines Special Flight Services, VIP flights, and Private Aviation operate the following, a number of which sport the airlines livery[citation needed]

Some military C-130s are also painted with the Saudi Arabian Airlines colors and are flown by Royal Saudi Air Force crews to support Saudi official activities in the region and Europe.

In-flight services

The in-flight magazine of Saudi Arabian Airlines is called Ahlan Wasahlan (Arabic: أهلاً وسهلاً "Hello and Welcome"). Alcoholic beverages and pork are served on board in accordance with Islamic dietary laws.

Incidents and accidents

  • On 25 September 1959, a Saudi Arabian Airlines Douglas DC-4 HZ-AAF crashed shortly after take-off from Jeddah. The cause of the accident was pilot error followed by a stall. All 67 passengers and 5 crew survived.[15]
  • On 9 February 1968, Douglas C-47 HZ-AAE was damaged beyond economic repair at an unknown location.[16]
  • On 23 December 1980, Saudia Flight 162, operating Dhahran to Karachi, experinced a explosive decompression, penetrating the passenger cabin. The hole sucked out two passengers and depressurized the cabin.[19]
  • In 23 August 2001, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia,[20] a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747–368 aircraft (Registration HZ-AIO) suffered nose damage as it entered a monsoon drainage ditch while it was being taxied by Maintenance staff from the hangar to the gate before a return flight to Saudi Arabia. None of the six crew members on board at the time were injured.
  • On 8 September 2005, a Saudi Arabian Boeing 747 travelling from Colombo to Jeddah, carrying mostly Sri Lankan nationals to take up employment in the Kingdom, received a false alarm claiming that a bomb had been planted on board. The aircraft returned to Colombo and, during the evacuation, there was a passenger stampede in the wake of which one Sri Lankan woman died, 62 were injured, and 17 were hospitalized. The aircraft had taken on a load of 420 passengers in Colombo.[21]
  • On 25 May 2008, a leased aircraft operating as Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight SV806 from Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport, Medina made an uneventful landing in Zia International Airport. During the roll the tower controller reported that he saw a fire on the right hand wing. Upon exiting runway 14 the crew received a fire indication for engine number three. The fire extinguisher was activated and all engines were shut down. The Boeing 747-357, which was damaged beyond repair, was successfully evacuated.[22] Only minor injuries had been incured.[23] Investigation determined a fuel leak where the fuel enters the front spar for engine number three.[22]
  • On 21 January 2010, a Saudi Arabian Cargo MD-11F was involved in a taxiway excursion at Malta International Airport. As the aircraft was taxiing to Park 9 via taxiway E, the right main landing gear overstepped the taxiway onto the grass where it became stuck in the soft soil. No injuries were reported and the aircraft was pulled out the following morning.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Embraer wins $400m Saudi jet deal". BBC News. 28 March 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  2. ^ "Saudi Air Lauches [sic] Privatization With Catering Unit". Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  3. ^ "Saudi cabinet okays Saudi Arabian Airlines privatisation". Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  4. ^ Saudi Arabian join Sky Team
  5. ^ Saudi Arabian Airlines fleet information: CH-Aviation
  6. ^ "Atlasjet: Fleet". Atlasjet.com.
  7. ^ Saudi Arabian Airlines - Details and Fleet History - Planespotters.net Just Aviation
  8. ^ CH-Aviation - Airline News, Fleet Lists & More
  9. ^ Saudi Arabian Airlines Fleet | Airfleets aviation
  10. ^ "Our Fleet". Saudi Arabian Airlines.
  11. ^ a b c [1], Airline Route newsletter, Nov. 2, 2011.
  12. ^ SV Cargo first A310F
  13. ^ "CH-Aviation: Saudi Arabian Royal Flight". www.ch-aviation.ch.
  14. ^ 38 new aircraft to boost Saudia service - Arab News
  15. ^ "Accident description". aviation-safety.net.
  16. ^ "HZ-AAE Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  17. ^ "Hijacking description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  18. ^ "HZ-AAK Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
  19. ^ Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 12231980
  20. ^ "Accident information : Boeing 747 Saudia HZ-AIO". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  21. ^ "Bomb hoax triggers panic at Sri Lanka airport," Asian Political News. 12 September 2005
  22. ^ a b "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747-357 TF-ARS Dhaka-Zia International Airport (DAC)". Aircraft Safety Network. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  23. ^ "Saudi plane catches fire at ZIA". The Daily Star. STAR. 26 March 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  24. ^ Aircraft slides onto the grass," Times of Malta. 22 January 2010
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