Dubai: Flynas, the Saudi Arabian carrier that dropped its low-cost image last October, is seeing an uptake in passenger numbers, its chief executive has said.
Raja Azmi said in a phone interview on Tuesday that domestic passenger traffic is increasing and that the new brand has positioned itself in line with company expectations.
flynas, formerly nasair, unveiled a new business strategy in the 2013 fourth quarter in a bid to attract higher yielding traffic. The airline changed its name, aircraft livery, introduced business class and announced plans to launch long-haul services by mid-2014.
Azmi, speaking ahead of the Jeddah-London Gatwick launch in April and Jeddah-Manchester in May, said the airline is so far on track to break even this year after seven years of losses.
flynas is looking to grow on the back of Saudi’s religious tourism market and will also launch flights to Morocco and Pakistan later this year. Azmi said that the airline is still set focus on Europe, Asia and Africa and could further add up to two new routes this year in addition to what has already been announced.
He also said that the airline will still rely on shareholders to fund growth for the immediate future.
Through Kingdom Holdings, Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal holds a 37 per cent stake in flynas’ parent company National Air Services Company Limited.
