Come summer and two things shoot up - the mercury and our stress levels. As people prepare to travel, the prospect of confirming seats and going through the rigors of departure dampen all the fun and excitement of going on a holiday. Be it within or out of the Kingdom, a lack of seats, long queues at check-in, and worst of all, the attitude of the airline staff, make any normal person sweat and swear. However, recent announcements by GACA (General Authority of Civil Aviation) and Saudi Arabian Airlines give reason for hope. The invitation by GACA to national and international aviation companies to operate domestic and international flights from the Kingdom is indeed a silver lining on the horizon. The fact that around 14 airlines have been shortlisted and are currently under scrutiny for the granting of a license is gratifying news. The additional supply of flights, particularly on domestic routes, will certainly make travel easier. Very often, traveling to Jeddah, Abha, Medina, etc. or to any international destination during peak business months, summer or Ramadan is a challenge due to the non-availability of seats on domestic and international airlines. Despite Saudia's admirable effort to provide more than 20 wide-bodied flights per day to Jeddah, we still face a challenge. The aims of the Saudi authorities, particularly GACA, in making travel easy, economical and enjoyable are indeed commendable, especially at a time when airlines around the world are winding up their operations or reducing the frequency of their flights. The expansion of the Kingdom's airports includes the SR 27.1 billion development of Jeddah's King Abdul Aziz International Airport which will eventually be able to receive 30 million passengers annually and Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport which will be able to receive 25 million passengers a year by 2015. Other important developments are the invitation to airline companies to operate flights from Saudi Arabia on domestic and international routes with their choice of hub in the Kingdom, the modernizing of airports, the addition of extra flights by Saudia on busy routes, and Saudia joining Sky Team and thereby giving its passengers access to 14,700 flights daily together with its Alliance Partners. These measures have the potential to change the face of travel for all of us in Saudi Arabia. But are these measures enough? I am afraid not. The fact of the matter is that all of the above will only be worthwhile when the attitudes of all airline staff (international and local), airport and immigration staff, etc. change for the better. I am not saying it is always bad, but staff with a positive and pleasant attitude are of prime importance in achieving the grand objectives of the Saudi authorities. For example, the Customer Service Lead and Customer Service Supervisor of Saudi Airlines at Hyderabad airport not only make flying an enjoyable venture but, together with Saudi Airlines excellent operations, are instrumental in increasing the flight loads and frequencies to and from Hyderabad when other airlines with big names and reputations are collapsing like a pack of cards. Closer to home, just imagine, with the hugely improved infrastructure and with efficient and pleasant services at our airports, what a pleasure traveling to and from Saudi Arabia would become, whether for business, pilgrimage or domestic tourism. Last April, three airports from the Far East, namely, Incheon International Airport (Seoul), Changi International Airport (Singapore) and Hong Kong International Airport were named the best airports in the world. This, according to Skytrax Chairman Edward Plaisted, was mainly due to the consistency of passenger experiences. And this implies that it was not just due to the size or the architectural and engineering excellence of these airports. Good experiences come with good attitudes; that is what the authorities and employees of these airports proved. This is precisely what needs to be understood here. And this will certainly happen, Inshallah. Grooming, training, nurturing and nourishing service-oriented behavior and positive and pleasant staff attitudes will one day help our airports in the Kingdom win international laurels too. When Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, etc. can do it, why not Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam?
— The writer is an aviation and hospitality industry specialist who has been working in the Kingdom for more than 17 years and is currently the director of sales for an international chain of hotels.
