Saudi Arabian Airlines Director General said in an interview with Al-Hayat that the gradual privatization of the airline had nothing to do with increasing international ticket prices. Saudia has been undergoing a gradual privatization of its services which is set to be completed by 2010 with the privatization of the aviation services sector, said Saudia's Director General, Khalid Al-Molhem. Almolhem said increasing fuel prices is the main reason the prices have increased. “The companies supplying planes with fuel and other services at international airports have raised their prices,” he said. This increase in operating cost requires a slight increase in ticket prices to offset the increased cost. The eventual privatization of the national airline will split the company into 13 separate entities, he said. Two of those entities, the catering and cargo services, have already been completely privatized and in second quarter of 2009 the Prince Sultan Academy for Aviation Sciences will be completed as well as the technical services sector. He stressed that Saudia's on-time record is far better than that of many major American airlines. “International studies show that 84.60 percent of Saudia's flights left on time last year while the figures were 84.41 percent for Delta, 77.92 percent for Continental, 75.34 percent for United, and 72.50 percent for US Air,” he said. Almolhem pointed out that there are many factors that affect flight delays which take place all over the world, and that all airlines face the problems of security, weather, crowded airports, and a multitude of technical difficulties. Safety however, is Saudia's top priority and no planes are allowed to leave an airport with any unresolved technical problem, he said, adding that the airline provides specialists to answer passengers' questions about delays and to help them with any problems they might have. The fleet of planes Saudia is currently using is also set to be modernized, Al-Milhim said the airline will purchase 70 new planes in the next few years including 42 Airbus A320's with a capacity of 120 seats, 12 Airbus 330's with a capacity of 304 seats, 12 Boeing 787's with a capacity of 222 passengers, as well as others. The first of these planes will begin to arrive in the last quarter of 2009. Saudia also has future plans for the employment of Saudi women. He said that the airline has already employed a limited number of women on an experimental basis to serve as female customer service agents in sales and reservation offices reserved for women. All of this is being done within the bounds of the Islamic Shariah and following Saudi customs and traditions, and the results of the experiment will determine the extent of the future employment of women in the airline. Al-Milhim said Saudia's main goal over the 60 years has been to link the corners of the Kingdom as part of its development plans, without focusing on profitability. Even today domestic flights do not achieve operational returns.
