Saudi Arabian Airlines is seeking to once again become the largest carrier in the Middle East and efforts are underway toward achieving this goal, Dr. Ghassan Al-Shibl, chairman of the board of Saudia told Asharq Alawsat around the U.S.-Saudi Arabia CEO Summit. Al-Shibl said that Saudia has reached a deal that will see the state-owned airline purchase 30 new Airbus and Boeing planes that will be delivered in 2017, according to the London-based Asharq Alawsat. This is part of a plan to expand the fleet from 128 planes to 200 by 2020, Al-Shibl said.
Saudi Airlines transported 30 million passengers in 2016 “and aspires to transport 45 million by 2020, meaning a growth of 50 percent, which is not an easy feat,” Al-Shibl said.
Transportation was one of the sectors in focus at the recent U.S.-Saudi CEO Summit, organized and hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Saudi Committee for International Trade (CIT) and the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce on Wednesday.
