After a four-year hiatus, British Airways - the UK's flagship carrier - will next week mark its return to Saudi Arabia with five weekly flights to both Riyadh and Jeddah from its base of operations at London Heathrow's Terminal 5. The resumption of operations in the Kingdom form the core of the airline's Middle East expansion strategy, with the Riyadh and Jeddah services taking British Airways' regional summer schedule to 66 weekly flights from eight GCC destinations, a 35 percent increase on the same period last year. Paolo De Renzis, British Airways' Area Commercial manager Middle East, said: “We'll be live in exactly one week's time and everything is running on schedule. The Middle East is an important growth market for us and resuming flights to Saudi makes sound financial sense to the airline.” “On June 1, we are looking forward to welcoming all of our Saudi customers onboard our non-stop services from Riyadh and Jeddah to our state-of-the-art hub at Terminal 5, which is Europe's largest and most modern terminal building and the London gateway to our global network of more than 150 destinations,” he added. Customers can book a return World Traveler (economy) fare from either Saudi city to Heathrow for as little as SR2,517, or opt for a wider more comfortable seat in World Traveler Plus (premium economy) return for only SR4,209. The fares include all taxes, fees and surcharges and are currently available on ba.com where customers can book and pay online in confidence. A full timetable of British Airways' Saudi - London services is available online at ba.com - where the lowest fares are guaranteed - and customers can book, pay and check-in online for their flights.
