1998 q2-saudi arabian airlines-the jewel of the middle east

8/13/2019 1998 Q2-Saudi Arabian Airlines-The Jewel of the Middle East

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Saudi Arabian Airlines : The Jewel of the Middle East

Saudi Arabian Airlines, which traces its beginnings to May 1945, is thelargest airline in the Middle East and the 25th largest in the world. Itsinception and de elop!ent sy!boli"ed dra!atic change #or an entirenation.

Saudi Arabian Airlines began in 1945 when the $nited States go ern!entpresented Saudi Arabia with a %ouglas &'4(, the !ilitary ersion o# the %&').*he #ollowing year, Saudi Arabian Airlines was #or!ed as an operating agency o#the Ministry o# %e#ense. Scheduled ser ices began in 194( when the airplaneconnected the Arabian +ul# to the ed Sea.

It #lew (45 !iles #ro! -eddah to the capital, iyadh, and a #urther 25 !iles to%hahran. *he nation/s #irst airport and operating base was at 0andara, close towhat is today downtown -eddah.

*he airline, then nown as S%I, i!!ediately established itsel# as the !oste##ecti e !eans o# transportation in Saudi Arabia, signaling the beginning o#dra!atic change #or an entire nation. perating in a country with only a #ewhundred !iles o# pa ed roads, no railways, and the ca!el as the pro!inent!ode o# transportation, S%I a!a"ed the population with its #eats. -ourneys thatonce too 3 days by ca!el were !ade in ust #our'and'a'hal# hours by air.

y the end o# 194(, S%I operated a #leet o# 1 %&')s. %o!estic route e6pansionwas slow, due pri!arily to a lac o# ser iceable air#ields. As ground #acilitiesbeca!e a ailable, S%I e6tended its ser ice #irst to towns in the 7a d andsouthern regions, then to the northern co!!unities o# the 0ingdo!. *he airlinealso began ser ice to neighboring countries, with #lights #ro! -eddah to eirut,&airo, and %a!ascus.



y -une 1949, the #leet had grown to 15 %&')s and 5 ristol 1( s. $ntil this ti!e,aircra#t !aintenance had been carried out in the open air. 8owe er, by the early195 s, the #irst !aintenance shops, which were built in -eddah, pro ided betterand !ore e##ecti e wor ing conditions.

In 1952 S%I ac uired #our %ouglas %&'4s, which pro ided the greater rangeneeded #or operations to Mediterranean destinations. *wo years later the #irst o#1 &on air )4 s entered ser ice. It was !uch #aster than the %&'), #lying #ro!-eddah to iyadh in an hour.

y its 1 th anni ersary, S%I had brought all outlying co!!unities o# the 0ingdo!to within a short ourney o# one another. Its !ost i!portant connections were to-eddah, the local transportation hub #or the annual 8a pilgri!age. Internationalser ice also had begun to the Middle Eastern countries o# Egypt, :ebanon, andSyria.

As recently as 193 !ost o# the 0ingdo!/s !a or cities and towns were notlin ed by pa ed roads. *his lac o# ade uate sur#ace transportation intensi#iedthe need #or #reighter ser ice as well as passenger tra el. *he airline respondedby boosting its payload and range by introducing two %ouglas %&'3A:oad!asters in 1934. *hese e##icient air #reighters, with their large #reight'loadingdoors and strengthened #loors, also had the range to #ly to European capitals.

*he airline entered the et age in 1932 with the purchase o# two oeing (2 s,which it used to e6pand its international ser ice. In 1935 S%I began #lying to&asablanca ia eirut, *ripoli, and *unis, establishing the #irst direct air linbetween the eastern and western hal es o# the Arab world. S%I also co!!enced

operations to the European cities o# ;ran #urt, +ene a, and :ondon. Airportswere constructed at Abha, +i"an, Madinah, *abu , and *ai# to per!it e6pansiono# do!estic routes. *hree %&'9s oined the #leet in 193(, and the #ollowing yearS%I ac uired two oeing ( (')3<s. *he oeing ()(s began to arri e in 19(2=the year S%I changed its na!e to Saudia>, and this #leet o# wide'body, short'haul twin' ets grew to 2 .

?assenger tra##ic grew tre!endously. y the !id'19( s, the -eddah' iyadhroute alone accounted #or 25 , passengers a year, and e en !inor airports,such as those in Abha and +i"an, counted !ore than 1 , a year. *hepassenger total passed the one'!illion !ar in 19(), and it continued to grow at

an unprecedented pace. *o acco!!odate the growth, in 19(5 Saudia beganoperating two o# the 214'seat :oc heed :'1 11 *ristars. Saudia would e entuallyoperate a total o# 2 :1 11s.

*he -eddah' iyadh'%hahran route beca!e so e6tensi ely tra eled that in -une19(3, Saudia introduced a no'reser ation shuttle ser ice. ?ea tra##ic reached34, passengers a !onth, !a ing the trans'Arabian route one o# the busiest inthe world.



In addition to its regular passenger and #reighter ser ice, Saudia pro ided pri ateser ice #or the growing nu!ber o# business e6ecuti es and ad!inistrators withspecial needs. In 19(3, Saudia established a Special ;light Ser ices %i isionwith airplanes ranging #ro! s!all ?iper Apaches to arious !odels o# the+ru!!an +ul#strea!.

In 19(5, Saudia leased #our ;o er ;'2( ;riendship twin' ets =4<'seat !odels>and in 19< , two ;o er ;'2< ;ellowships =3 'seat !odels> to !eet the growingde!ands o# do!estic ser ice. 8owe er, the 1 'seat capacity o# the oeing ()(soon beca!e the standard #or all e6cept the !ost dense do!estic routes. y theearly 19< s, the nu!ber o# Saudia international destinations had risen to ) #ro!1), and the nu!ber o# its international airports had increased to #our. Saudialeased two )(('seat oeing (4('2 s in -une 19(( to !eet the de!and #ortra el to European destinations. It later added routes #ro! -eddah to 7ew @orusing oeing (4( Special ?er#or!ance =S?> !odels. Saudia also added ser iceto ang o , Manila, 7airobi, and Singapore.

Saudia carried !ore than 11 !illion passengers in 19<), and de!and continuedto increase. *he #leet grew with the lease o# large nu!bers o# aircra#t, including24 %&'<s, 14 oeing (4('2 s, and 14 :oc heed &'1) #reighters. *heseairplanes oined an e6isting #leet o# 2 :oc heed *riStars, 12 oeing (4('1 sand 'S?s, 2 oeing ()(s, and 11 Airbus A) 4'3 s.

*he 19< s witnessed the inauguration o# direct #lights on trans'Atlantic ser ice toashington, %.&., #ro! both -eddah and iyadh. Seasonal ser ice was later

opened to rlando, ;lorida. In 19<3 Saudia established an air cargo hub atrussels, elgiu!, and a si!ilar hub in *aipei, *aiwan, in 19<<. In 199 an all'

cargo route to *o yo opened as an e6tension o# the *aipei ser ice. In 1995,Saudia #lew !ore than 12 !illion passengers on national and international #lights,and the airline celebrated its 5 th anni ersary with announce!ent o# a newairplane order #ro! oeing. n ctober 25, Saudi contracted to !oderni"e its#leet with the purchase o# 2) (((s, 5 (4(s, 29 M%'9 s, and 4 M%'11s.

In %ece!ber 199(, Saudia too deli ery o# the #irst oeing airplanes #ro! the1995 order, including a (4('4 , ((('2 , M%'11;, and M%'9 . *he e ent!ar ed the #irst ti!e that oeing ('series airplanes and %ouglas ?roducts%i ision airplanes shared the sa!e stage.

oeing &o!!ercial Airplane +roup is proud to present the history o# Saudi Arabian Airlines, an industry partner whose pro#itable

and sa#e operations continue with the oeing (((, (4(, M%'9 , and M%'11. All content is pro ided by Saudi Arabian Airlines.' Editor

1998 q2-saudi arabian airlines-the jewel of the middle east

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