ONE of our most expressive proverbs says, “It is prohibited to hit the dead.” May Allah forgive all the writers and columnists who have been committing this sin of attacking Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia). No one is happy with the performance of the national flag carrier. Even senior officials and staff are dissatisfied with its performance except for those who put their personal interests before the interests of the nation. Though Saudia is the oldest airline in the region and has the largest fleet of aircraft, its financial losses run into the billions of riyals. In the meantime, newly launched airlines in neighboring countries make profits that run into the billions, have a larger network of destinations and better marketing policies. Saudia has the usual excuses for its financial losses: High cost of domestic operations. If this were an acceptable excuse, Qatar and Gulf Airways would not have been granted licenses for domestic operations. Saudia is keeping mum on the generous support and subsidies being extended to it by the government. The most prominent of these subsidies is the low fuel prices Saudi pays, a privilege not extended to any other airline, which is why it is difficult for other airlines to compete with Saudia in the local market. Instead of granting Qatar and Gulf airways permission to operate domestic flights, I wish the government had sold them the national carrier or at least assigned its management to one of them. The wound of our carrier will always bleed — Saudia is alive no more so we should stop hoping for improvement and acknowledge that it has been buried and long forgotten.
