Austrian Airlines says it will provide service to the Saudi Arabian cities of Jeddah and Riyadh starting this summer. The Austrian carrier said Thursday that the new routes will take effect in August. It says it will fly nonstop from Vienna to Jeddah four times a week, and from Vienna to the Saudi capital of Riyadh three times a week. Austrian Airlines says Airbus A320 jetliners will fly the new routes. Airline CEO Alfred Oetsch calls the new service strategically important because flight demand across the Middle East has grown by about 7 percent - well above the 4.8 percent worldwide average. Austrian will introduce four weekly flights to Jeddah from Aug. 18 and three weekly services to Riyadh from Aug. 19. These new routes are in addition to eight existing destinations bringing Austrians Middle East network to ten cities within the region. The expansion is a development of Austrians successful Focus East network strategy. Due to the ideal geographic location of Vienna, Austrian can serve longer distance destinations with medium-haul aircraft offering greater cost competiveness to passengers. The new destinations will be among the first to offer travellers the experience of the new Premium Service product in Business Class: Recaro Business Sleeper Seats provide 116cm of legroom, optimum seat incline, electronically adjustable back and foot rests and an integrated massage function. Other features include an integrated PC power point, personal privacy screen and award winning catering by DO & CO. Austrians Middle East network includes the following destinations in addition to the new services to Riyadh and Jeddah: Dubai - daily, Tripoli - 5 times a week; Tehran - 5 flights a week; Erbil - 3 flights a week from April 2008, increasing to 4 a week from June 2008; Amman - 4 flights a week; Damascus - 9 flights a week; Cairo - up to 2 flights a day; Istanbul - twice daily; Ankara - daily and Tel Aviv - up to 3 flights a day. Some flights are codeshared. Alfred Otsch, chief executive officer of Austrian Airlines, said: “While industry experts are currently basing their forecast growth predictions in worldwide flight demand of approximately 4.8 percent, the rate of growth in the Middle East is expected to be approximately at 7 percent. “In the capital Riyadh and the major port city Jeddah, we are integrating two hugely important cities in Saudi Arabia into our route network. By doing so, we are also increasing the volume of transfer traffic that will pass through our Vienna hub, and offering the best possible connections to Central and Eastern Europe - a region of increasingly importance. __
