JEDDAh: Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA) and Air France have signed here a common agreement for code sharing operations. By January 10, 2011, the automated reservation systems of both companies will provide passengers with the option to fly the other carrier if no flight is scheduled or no seat available. If a passenger, for instance, wants to fly Air France from Paris to Dubai on a certain day, but the French carrier does not have a scheduled flight on that day, the travel agent can offer the passenger a seat on Saudia to Dubai, via Jeddah. In the same way, passengers from Saudi Arabia will be able to find seats either on the national carrier or on Air France. An official signing ceremony was held here Sunday, attended by Khaled Al-Molhem, Director General of SAA, and Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Chief Executive Officer of Air France-KLM. The ceremony was also attended by Abdullah Rehaimi, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), along with senior executive officials of both airlines. In his speech, Al-Molhem described the agreement as “a continuation of Saudia's plan to expand its essential, strategic alliances with international air carriers”. He noted that the agreement will allow Saudia to move from Terminal 1 at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to Terminal 2 which is mainly used by Air France. Similarly, he added, the flights of Air France will arrive at the Southern Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport, so that passengers on these flights can easily catch flights on both Saudia and Air France. “The agreement will contribute to strengthening and expanding cooperation on all levels between the two carriers. It will also enable students, businesspeople and travelers to easily move between Saudi Arabia and France, as well as to the rest of the world,” Al-Molhem said. Gourgeon expressed his pleasure in signing the agreement with Saudia. He pointed out that the agreement comes as the fruit of mutual negotiations between the two sides and their willingness in produce effective cooperation that provides distinctive services to passengers on both carriers. “This will help the two companies keep their permanent and regular customers,” he said. It is noteworthy that the code sharing agreement is in line with a previous Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the two carriers signed in June 2010. The MoU included the desire of both carriers to put marketing cooperation into effect. It also included the their wish to expand cooperation on various levels such as the air cargo sector and permanent passenger service programs.
