Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA), the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has been voted ‘Best New Inflight Entertainment Connectivity Launch By An Airline' and ‘Best First Class Amenity Kit – Middle East' by the readers of PAX International magazine. PAX International is the leading voice of news and analysis for the airline passenger services, interiors, IFEC and MRO executive. The annual PAX International Readership Awards includes several categories related to the inflight experience. SAUDIA won two awards at the annual event: ‘Best First Class Amenity Kit – Middle East,' which includes a variety of travel essentials in a bespoke premium travel pack, for Gentlemen and Ladies. The second award is for the latest advancements in SAUDIA's inflight entertainment program. In the past year, SAUDIA has added more than 1000 entertainment hours to its lineup; introduced a free onboard messaging plan – which is available onboard 104 connected aircraft and includes five chatting applications. SAUDIA is the first and only airline in the world to provide a free social messaging plan that includes five of the most popular and widely used applications. Included in the plan is texting up to 10 MBs on the following applications: •- Whatsapp • Facebook Messenger • iMessage • WeChat • Instagram chat Moreover, since the start of this year, seven aircraft have been retrofitted to include new seats seatback television screens; and Wi-Fi connectivity. The new aircraft are operating on key European routes: Rome, Milan, Munich, Frankfurt, Geneva, and Vienna. With the new retrofitted aircraft, a new graphical user interface has been added and comes with many innovative functions and options to add more comfort to our guest's experience. SAUDIA's fleet includes latest state-of-the-art inflight entertainment systems and features, including onboard Wi-Fi and more than 4000 hours of Hollywood premiere and latest television shows, box sets, music, multi-language, international, and children's programming, as well as digital and audio books and much more. — SG
