Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) has released its summer plan, outlining the preeminent operational aspects during the upcoming peak season starting from June 24 to Sept. 16. The plan shows a record increase in the number of flights and seating capacity both internationally and domestically, to prepare for the dramatic increase in the demand for air travel in the summer period. During the upcoming summer holidays, 48,144 flights with seating capacity of up to 10.3M passengers will be operated (up 20% compared to last summer). The plan includes operating 29,900 flights domestically with seating capacity of up to 5.37 million guests, in addition to more than 18,000 international flights taking the capacity up to 4.95 million. Thus, 860,000 guests will be welcomed onboard 4,012 flights weekly; 448,000 of them on 2,500 domestic flights. Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines Engineer Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser said: "The summer months are a peak travel period and SAUDIA is ready to provide our guests with increased capacity and exceptional service onboard." He added: "Our summer operations plan this year is the highest in SAUDIA's history, reflecting the forward-thinking initiatives of SV2020 (the airline's transformation plan). "As the national carrier of the Kingdom, SAUDIA continues to strengthen its domestic and international network with the launch of new destinations as well as the addition of flights and capacity on existing routes, requiring close cooperation with the relevant governmental bodies and support of airport authorities to ensure seamless operational execution. We are dedicated to providing world-class inflight service to the growing number of guests traveling with SAUDIA, while maintaining the on-time performance of flights." "The daily average of SAUDIA flights during the summer season will range from 550 to 600 flights with a capacity of 123,000 seats, of which 400 flights are domestic, providing additional capacity for 64,000 guests." Al-Jasser further said: "Since the start of 2017, SAUDIA continued to make significant enhancements by taking the delivery of a record 16 aircraft comprising of 12 widebodies and four narrowbodies (B777-300ER, B787-9 Dreamliner, A330-300R and A320)." The ongoing fleet investment will bring the airline's average fleet age to 3.75 years by the end of this year, which is a key element of SAUDIA's targeted strategy to operate one of the youngest fleet in the skies. — SG
