JEDDAH — Two airlines will begin domestic operations at the end of this year, according to the head of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) Sulaiman Abdullah Al-Hamdan.
Al-Khaleej Airlines (Al-Khaleejiya) and Al-Maha are scheduled to start operating, but Al-Hamdan said he has not specified distribution points or locations for the companies despite reports suggesting otherwise, Al-Madina reported.
He said: “At the end of the current year, the two airlines will operate domestic flights in our airports.
“There are some permits that have not been issued till now. “The delay is not by GACA.
“When the two companies meet all the conditions they will start their work.”
“Specifying the air fares is not the responsibility of GACA but is directly related to the prices charged by operating companies.
“There will be competition between the two new companies and the current airlines, Saudia and Flynas.”
There are no intentions or plans to allocate regions of the Kingdom's regions among the airlines, he said, adding they would have to compete for fares.
Saleh Nasser Al-Jasser, director general of Saudi Arabian Airlines, welcomed the two new companies.
He expressed happiness about the competition this would create. A source in GACA attributed the delay in the two companies' entry to a “big change” in the aircraft industry.
When Saudia, Al-Maha and Al-Khaleejiya found out before purchasing their aircraft at the beginning of last year that new models would enter the market, they postponed their previous orders, the source said.
The source added that all the airlines that will enter the Kingdom's airports took delivery of their planes at the beginning of this year.
He said a large part of the companies' technical licenses has been completed.
The source believed the entry of the two airlines would not affect prices, especially on domestic flights.
He added that international flights would witness competition in prices and an improvement in services for passengers.
“However, what is important is that the two airlines will provide seats, especially since there was a deficit of 2 million seats on domestic flights in 2014.
“The two airlines will provide 14 percent more seats.”
