An agreement has been signed to sell 30% of Saudi Arabian Airlines' freight sector to Tarabut Air Freight Services Company. The agreement, signed on Sunday in the presence of Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation, Inspector General, and Chairman of Board of Directors of the General Organization of Saudi Arabian Airlines, will see Tarabut work as a strategic partner of Saudi Arabian Airlines in the freight sector, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. Freight sector revenues rose above SR1.7 billion in 2007 and exceeded SR1 billion in the first half of 2008, which Khalid Bin Abdullah Almolhem, Saudi Airlines Director General, described as an unprecedented achievement in the history of the airline. The signing ceremony, also attended by Prince Sultan Bin Muhammad Bin Saud Al-Kabeer, Prince Fahd Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Civil Aviation Affairs and Prince Naif Bin Sultan Bin Muhammad Bin Saud Al-Kabeer plus a number of other officials, preceded a board meeting chaired by the Crown Prince in which the success of privatizations projects was reviewed. Almolhem reviewed the privatization of the supplies and freight sectors plus the establishment of 13 companies fully owned by Saudi Arabian Airlines. The meeting further approved the financial statements of the past year which showed that Saudi Arabian Airlines achieved operational profits amounting to SR488 million. The Crown Prince highlighted the airline's achievements in services for pilgrims and citizens and the remarkable development of services and strategic objectives. __
