Frequent travelers inside the Kingdom may be in for an unpleasant surprise as news is out that the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) is looking to raise the airfare on local flights. A recent study by GACA found that the prices of local airline tickets in neighboring countries are much higher than in the Kingdom. In fact, the airfare on flights inside the Kingdom is nearly 50 percent lower than it is in most Arab countries. This leaves room for an increase in local airfare, which may actually be a possibility in the near future, according to a report in Al-Riyadh newspaper. Saudi nationals and expatriate residents alike are worried about this possibility especially those who are frequent flyers. Many claim that an increase in local airfare will have a negative impact on all dimensions of their life in the Kingdom: financially, socially and psychologically. At a time when airlines in Western countries are at war over attracting more passengers through competitively reducing prices, offering discounts and improving services, this news was not well received by the average person living in the Kingdom. Many believe that since Saudi Arabian Airlines basks in the strong support of the government by receiving subsidized fuel, it should seek to improve passenger satisfaction and enhance its services rather than raise its prices. It appears that Saudi Arabian Airlines has already started moving in the direction of raising its prices through an indirect strategy which involves establishing new flights to areas that were previously unreachable by plane but at inflated ticket prices. Take for example Al-Ola, which is a small, sparsely populated city that is home to Mada'in Saleh, a pre-Islamic archaeological site that is a popular destination for researchers, tourists and archaeologists. Al-Ola is located 380 km north of Madinah and Saudi Arabian Airlines flights there have just recently commenced. The airfare for a round trip between Al-Ola and Riyadh is SR1150, while the ticket between Riyadh and Madinah, which is in the same province as Al-Ola, is at half the price. Flying to Riyadh from Al-Ola takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes, almost just the same amount of time needed to fly from Jeddah to Riyadh (at a mere cost of SR560 for a return ticket). Most people who want to leave Al-Ola end up driving to Madinah and then catching a flight elsewhere to save a good amount of money. Abdullah Al-Jehani, vice president of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, warned the general public against being too quick to criticize the decision to expand the ceiling of prices on local airline tickets. According to Al-Jehani, more freedom in placing airfare prices does not necessarily mean unreasonable increases across the board but it could also entail introducing new prices depending on the local destination. Al-Jehani also called on Saudi Arabian Airlines to implement other important changes before changing airfares, such as improving passenger services, adding more flights, and increasing seat availability. “The decision to allow an increase in local airfare may actually prove productive in increasing the capacity of passenger seats, opening new flights, improving the quality of service on board the aircraft and boosting local tourism in general. The percentage of tourists that travel by plane within the Kingdom is very low in comparison to the tourists that travel by land. According to a study conducted by the Tourism Information and Research Center, 93.4 percent of all local tourism packages use means of transportation by land whereas 6.6 percent of local tourists travel by plane,” said Al-Jehani. Abdullateef Al-Afaleq, CEO of a tourism agency in the Kingdom, disapproves of any increase in prices by Saudi Arabian Airlines if it is not accompanied by real and noticeable benefits to the passengers. Al-Afaleq wants to see air travel in the Kingdom become more expansive and dense, as in other major parts of the world. The Kingdom has a vast surface area and its metropolises are growing and are far reaching. Therefore, the Kingdom's residents should not be forced to rely on only one or two airlines for the entire country. According to Al-Afaleq, the physical size of the airport is not as important as the number of flights landing and taking off each day. There is a serious shortage of flights in most of the small cities in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabian airlines needs to provide more flights and at frequent times throughout the day. Al-Afaleq believes having several airlines will create healthy competition and keep airfares in an acceptable range. “The airport in Al-Ahsa has very limited flights to the larger cities in the Kingdom, to the extent that travelers who wish to reach Jeddah travel by car to Doha in Qatar, which is more than 200 km away, to get on the earliest flight to Jeddah. More diversified airline companies from both the private and government sectors are needed in the Kingdom,” said Al-Afaleq. Travel agent Fadel Ibrahim said certain strategies adopted by Saudi Arabian Airlines are impeding local tourism rather than helping it flourish.
