AIRLINES
A new regulatory environment is boosting competitiveness and activity in a sector that is displaying all the hallmarks of a boom.
We were issued a license in October; it took us a year to get the license done and we started a month later. This is a reflection of the changes taking place in the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), which was supportive of our aircraft operators certificate (AOC) licensing process. It provided us all the resources we needed to get things done quickly. The Kingdom has Saudia, which started 70-80 years ago and the process when it was launched would have been different so it never really went through this application process. When Sulaiman bin Abdullah Al-Hamdan took over and the management at GACA changed, it truly pushed us to help get things done. It took us pretty much a year to go from an initial approval of the idea and the concept of the airline to going through the entire process of hiring people, getting our manuals done, and then the proving flights. These are non-revenue non-commercial flights that are operated under inspection of GACA; it reviews operations and pilots for over 50 hours. All of this was completed in a year. The short duration of this process is a record for Saudi Arabia. We are the fastest airline to go from initial concept to getting the license and it took us just another month or two to begin flying.
The performance of Flynas does not come as a surprise because we have been working with a structured plan based on the economic and competitive environment for the last few years. We made our plans with the objective to turn the company to profitability by the end of 2015; the target was achieved. At the same time, GACA started reforms in the industry by gradually removing the price cap, trying to provide fair treatment among the national carriers. The result of relaxing the price cap was a massive increase in domestic flights, which reflects basically the economic theory that price caps are not good and lead to capacity shortages. Since 2015 the government has been gradually lifting the price cap and this has given us more opportunities in the market and we believe it should be completely removed as soon as possible for fair competition and improving efficiencies. The strategy that we have put into place has been the right one; we have rebranded the airline, positioning ourselves a “smart choice airline” instead of low cost, focusing more on our customers, with our performance based on efficiency.
Diversification is one thing that has become a focus, just like any other industry. Private aviation and the general aviation sector are still considered to be a young business in Saudi Arabia and therefore a lot of development has taken place over the last five years. This is part of the life cycle of the industry and is needed to reach a more mature stage. SPA is the investment arm of Saudi Arabian Airlines in the private aviation sector. We feel our responsibility as the largest player in the market is to try and contribute more to the restructuring of the sector in the Kingdom. Our starting point was as part of the overall 2020 transformation vision of Saudi Arabian Airlines. Out of that we have developed our five-year strategic plan and that basically revolves around the integrated private aviation business model. For us integrated means four plus one, meaning five lines of business. The first arm is the charter business that we have been operating for over 30 years. We have 10 aircraft of our own, both Hawker and Falcon. We have also expanded into aircraft management, which we were not involved in before.
AIRLINES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Column
YB Pehin Dato Lim Jock Seng, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office & Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei
TBY talks to YB Pehin Dato Lim Jock Seng, Minister at the Prime Minister's Office & Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei, on the sector.
read articleReview
A Crude Awakening
The Kingdom has made renewables a critical aspect of its ambitious Vision 2030 effort to diversify its economy and wean itself from a strictly carbon-based diet, not to mention empower local businesses and individuals to take up the mantle and lead the energy sector into the next generation.
read articleInterview
Abdulaziz AbdulKarim, Vice President of Procurement & Supply Chain Management (PSCM) , Saudi Aramco,
TBY talks to Abdulaziz AbdulKarim, Vice President of Procurement & Supply Chain Management (PSCM) at Saudi Aramco, on the IKTVA program, supporting local content, and looking back over a successful year.
read articleInterview
Ayman Abdullah Alfallaj, CEO, Thiqah
TBY talks to Ayman Abdullah Alfallaj, CEO of Thiqah, on how the private sector can keep pace with the speed of public reforms, delivering a strong and lasting value proposition, and integrating the fruits of privatization into the public sector.
read articleFocus: Technology Investments
Investment Calling
A technological revolution is underway in the Kingdom. Already one of the most tech-savvy nations in the Middle East, the Saudi market has long sought a thriving domestic technology and innovation scene. And with Vision 2030, it is on course to deliver just that.
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A Hejaz Unhindered
An ambitious series of road and rail projects from the Jordanian border down to the Indian Ocean are slated to open in part before the end of 2017. They bring the Kingdom that much nearer to its goal of greater non-carbon-based economic integration with the world.
read articleInterview
Sulaiman bin Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Former Minister of Transport and Minister, Civil Service
TBY talks to Sulaiman bin Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Former Minister of Transport and current Minister of Civil Service, on an attractive legislative framework for investment, railway linkages, and port developments.
read articleInterview
Rumaih M. Al-Rumaih, President, Public Transport Authority (PTA
TBY talks to Rumaih M. Al-Rumaih, President of Public Transport Authority (PTA) & Acting President of Saudi Railway Organization, on teaming up with commercially committed partners, making sure the Kingdom's land and sea bridges are of the first order, and providing employment for all the Kingdom's inhabitants.
read articleInterview
Nabeel M. Al-Amudi, President, Saudi Ports Authority, and Minister of Transport
TBY talks to Nabeel M. Al-Amudi, Minister of Transport, and President of Saudi Ports Authority, on optimally restricting concession agreements, resolving bottlenecks in the logistics chain, and privatizing as rapidly as possible.
read articleInterview
Khaled Bin Abdullah Al Hogail, CEO & Managing Director , Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO)
TBY talks to Khaled Bin Abdullah Al Hogail, CEO & Managing Director of the Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO), on the importance of strong and rational regulations, knowledge transfers, and unifying public and private transportation networks.
read articleInterview
Imad El-Zein, CEO, Auto World-Sixt Saudi Arabia
TBY talks to Imad El-Zein, CEO of Auto World-Sixt Saudi Arabia, on growing market share in challenging circumstances, partnering with world-class players to boost its local presence, and combining better services with lower costs.
read articleInterview
Saleh H. Al-Ghamdi, Acting CEO, Saudi Air Navigation Services Company (SANS)
TBY talks to Saleh H. Al-Ghamdi, Acting CEO of Saudi Air Navigation Services Company (SANS), on maximizing safe and effective services, effectively increasing the rate of Saudization, and easing the pathway of women into the workforce.
read articleInterview
Khalil Kutubkhanah, CEO, Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration Company (JDURC)
TBY talks to Ibrahim Khalil Kutubkhanah, CEO of Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration Company (JDURC), on Jeddah's unplanned settlements, the company's redevelopment projects, and its partnership model with the private sector.
read articleInterview
Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Shaibani, Deputy Minister, Planning and Health & Director of the Vision Realization Office
TBY talks to Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Shaibani, Deputy Minister for Planning and Health & Director of the Vision Realization Office, on reforms within the Ministry of Health, the corporatization of healthcare provision, and transformations in care delivery.
read articleInterview
Mohanad A. Dahlan, CEO, University of Business and Technology (UBT) Company
TBY talks to Mohanad A. Dahlan, CEO of University of Business and Technology (UBT) Company, on the evolution of the company, education investments, and upcoming sectors that will need support from the sector.
read articleFocus: Universities
Broad and Deep
As part of the continuing decentralization of higher education in Saudi Arabia, individual universities are pursuing their own paths to grow their faculties, engage with various international stakeholders, and ultimately move toward a more privatized future.
read articleInterview
Rafique Izhiman, Area General Manager KSA Jeddah, Yanbu Hotels
TBY talks to Rafique Izhiman, Area General Manager KSA Jeddah/Yanbu Hotels & General Manager, Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG), Jeddah, on the role the firm plays in the market, expanding its footprint in the country, and expectations for 2017.
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