15 December 2015
RIYADH: Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has announced that it expects their total number of passengers to exceed 30 million next year.

This statement came during a workshop held by Saudia at Nova Resort to the west of Riyadh which was held over two days with the intention of reviewing the goals of the transformation program launched by the air carrier last year.

The commercial department of the company participated in a presentation regarding the operational plan for 2016, current travel destinations, seat capacities and the number of daily internal and international flights.

The workshop was attended by Suleiman Al-Hamdan, president of the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA), and Saleh Al-Jasser, chairperson of Saudia's Board of Directors.

The directors of other affiliated companies and their heads of the strategic units as well as a number of leaders in the company also participated in the workshop.

In his opening speech, Al-Hamdan pointed to the changes and transformations facing the field of civil and commercial aviation in the Kingdom during this crucial stage where the air transport industry is witnessing big developments that demand a speedy response.

Al-Jasser said that increasing the efforts of the company and its affiliates to keep up with modern developments should not be only limited to the air transport industry a role already assumed by the Saudi Arabian Airlines and other private airliners operating in the Kingdom but should also include other industries such as the engineering teams, ground services, air supplies, air cargo, specialized aviation academies and the air services and maintenance teams.

The workshop also hosted professional expert and educator in building uplifting service cultures, Ron Kaufman, who delivered a lecture entitled "Uplifting Service" which stressed the importance of the services provided for corporate clients, and the need to keep abreast of the developments and rapid changes in this field. Kaufman emphasized in his lecture that there is much competition between companies in terms of service provision for clients, especially in the field of commercial aviation.

He also reviewed some of the successful experiences of transformation around the world in the economic, business, and aviation sectors and spoke about how to utilize these successful experiences to work out the current transformation project being carried out by Saudia.

© Arab News 2015