Saudia

[nwoody2001]

So by that analogy when its removed in 4 weeks that's shrinkage?

Only when comparing like for like...

Aug'23 = 3x weekly
Aug'24 = 4x weekly

If Aug'25 is 3x weekly, then yes that's shrinkage.

I really don't understand the struggle here. I fail to see how a route that has a seasonal increase to 4x weekly when it has only every operated 3x weekly is anything BUT growth??? Its not staying the same, and its not shrinking, so what the hell is it?

 

[big vern]

.

 

[rollo]

SV was full outbound Sunday

And by my calcs, the last 10 SV departures have had an Av LF of 92%, as Ian has said, the departing fligths are going out pretty close to/if not full.

i wonder if the 787-10 has any additional cargo benefit over the 787-9 as i hear cargo is doing well on the route also?

Todays Saudi 787X is 100% full inbound !

Taken the liberty for information of re posting the above from last August to beginning of September indicating heavy demand on this route in peak summer.

in other words this summer Saudi have put an extra flight on for a short seasonal period to meet the demand.

Pretty common over summer hols meanwhile the likes of LH/AF tend to reduce some services over the period as demand on certain routes temporarily drops off.

 

[mullion]

It has been Hajj for last few weeks

 

[rollo]

Don't think its Hajj related last year it finished on July1st, Saudi didn't commence until July 2nd and the really high load factors and 787-10 s kicked in later in the summer.

This year Hajj finished June 19th the additional Saturday flight kicks in July 27th to 31st August

Seems a increase to cover the main school holiday season to me based on last years demand although freely admit to little knowledge regarding Hajj.

 

[Mackadown spotter]

Remember the 4 weekly in august could be for connection,Religious or possible high demand in ticket sales which is a positive

 

[mullion]

Would you want to go to Saudi in July August on holiday as there have already been 1400 heat deaths this summer at Hajj alone

 

[rollo]

To be honest mate I wouldn't want to go to Saudi full stop give me Vegas, NYC, or just about anywhere and in the case of this December its the the Caribbean

To be honest I think much of the demand is for connectivity or at least that is the long term objective. Anyway the route seems to have had a positive first twelve months.

 

[gulftraveller]

To be honest mate I wouldn't want to go to Saudi full stop give me Vegas, NYC, or just about anywhere and in the case of this December its the the Caribbean

To be honest I think much of the demand is for connectivity or at least that is the long term objective. Anyway the route seems to have had a positive first twelve months.

And that’s the problem for Saudia, plus poorer connections than QTR or UAE. A lack of brand awareness, dry flights and (uninformed) speculation about transferring in Saudi. They simply cannot compete against airlines like these. As a result they depend for business on price competition, with many of the seats in UK sold through consolidators. I would imagine yields are very tight.

 

[TM3]

Birmingham has a large Muslim population. Nearly 30% of residents are Muslim and 17% from Pakistan alone.

With the absence of PIA I imagine some of these passengers are now picked up by Saudia.

Jeddah airport also serves Mecca which sees tourism all year around.

You can also earn/redeem Virgin points on Saudia now which is an option if you have the credit card and you're a FF member.

 

[gulftraveller]

Fully agree with that. I had assumed that most passengers would be travelling to Pakistan. If, however, you search their website for e.g. BHX-ISB, it gives travel times of between 38 and 86 hours. Surely the price difference between SVA and, let’s say QTR or UAE, cannot be so great as to justify a minimum 25 hour layover. It would be quicker to drive!

 

[TM3]

Just checked their website, they offer 3 destinations I recognise as being in Pakistan, Islamabad, Multan and Karachi.

Karachi seems OK for connection times to me at just under 3 hrs. Wikiedia shows Karachi population at 14m+ vs 1m+ in Islamabad.

The other connections are not so good but they are specifically marketing overnight stops to religious sites, with the visa application on the Saudia website, as a part of their proposition.

As the national carrier, their remit is partially to support the local tourism economy, at the moment more religious tourism, which probably works quite well for them TBH. They can also sell a connecting flights to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, et al.

I don't think you'd want to drive from Jeddah or Riyadh for that matter as it is likely to be a difficult journey through Iraq, Iran and potentially Afghanistan.

You can do it according to Google in 50+ hrs but remember this is spending every moment at the wheel, including at night, driving through potentially dangerous desert areas.

 

[gulftraveller]

The vast majority of Pakistanis living in the Midlands and North are from Punjab, with far fewer from Sindh. That is why PIA flights from UK were to ISB and LHE, not Karachi. But clearly people are travelling on the UK Jeddah sector.

I was being ironic about driving!

 

[TM3]

Lahore, Punjab, is also there with 3hr stop over connections.

My intention was just to convey that Saudia offer a number of destinations in Pakistan, and that people of Pakistani heritage living in the Midlands may not necessarily just be going to Islamabad as you implied in your earlier post.

TBF Google maps does give those figures for driving from Riyadh to Islamabad so it seemed credible that you were suggesting it as a possibilty, abeit in jest.

 

[Scania1800]

The vast majority of Pakistanis living in the Midlands and North are from Punjab, with far fewer from Sindh. That is why PIA flights from UK were to ISB and LHE, not Karachi. But clearly people are travelling on the UK Jeddah sector.

I was being ironic about driving!

The Jeddah sector provides a 48hour stay incl an umrah tour, hence why it’s a lot more popular

 

[A330]

I'm not convinced Saudia is trying to compete directly with Emirates or Qatar on the same scale. Yes, they have a bank of connections to mainly Asia after the European flights arrive at Jeddah, so they will take this business if they can. Don't compare their connections to Emirates or Qatar, instead look at the traffic arriving into the country via Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha

Certainly, if you look at Saudia Arabian aviation as a whole and include Riyadh Air in this discussion, it's about attracting tourism to the kingdom. The creation of Riyadh Air is more about traffic to Riyadh with less focus on millions transiting at the airport as we see in Dubai.

Can they attract the European market which would need a massive cultural change? I personally have not seen any evidence it will happen other than a few sporting events!

There are a lot of people contracting in Riyadh who travel monthly back home to Europe. Ok, perhaps not the numbers right now to sustain a daily widebody service to most airports, however I do see growth in this area over the next few years. I think an A321 could be used to link more UK airports to Riyadh?

 

[Mackadown spotter]

All these opinions over a 4 weekly service in august .

Mind blowing

 

[Scania1800]

All these opinions over a 4 weekly service in august .

Mind blowing

Opinions? Coming from someone who’s clearly been commenting nothing but bullcrap just to get attention

 

[Mackadown spotter]

Opinions? Coming from someone who’s clearly been commenting nothing but bullcrap just to get attention

To be fair I do talk a load of rubbish

 

[Aviador]

Enough of the innuendos please. This is a forum and everyone is entitled to their own views. We can't agree with one another all of the time but we can agree to disagree and respect each other.