Saudi Arabian Airlines : The Jewel of the Middle East

Saudi Arabian Airlines, which traces its beginnings to May 1945, is the largest airline in the Middle East and the 25th largest in the world. Its inception and de elop!ent sy!boli"ed dra!atic change #or an entire nation.
Saudi Arabian Airlines began in 1945 when the $nited States go ern!ent presented Saudi Arabia with a %ouglas &'4(, the !ilitary ersion o# the %&'). *he #ollowing year, Saudi Arabian Airlines was #or!ed as an operating agency o# the Ministry o# %e#ense. Scheduled ser ices began in 194( when the airplane connected the Arabian +ul# to the ,ed Sea. It #lew (45 !iles #ro! -eddah to the capital, ,iyadh, and a #urther 25. !iles to %hahran. *he nation/s #irst airport and operating base was at 0andara, close to what is today downtown -eddah. *he airline, then 1nown as S%I, i!!ediately established itsel# as the !ost e##ecti e !eans o# transportation in Saudi Arabia, signaling the beginning o# dra!atic change #or an entire nation. 2perating in a country with only a #ew hundred !iles o# pa ed roads, no railways, and the ca!el as the pro!inent !ode o# transportation, S%I a!a"ed the population with its #eats. -ourneys that once too1 3. days by ca!el were !ade in 4ust #our'and'a'hal# hours by air. 5y the end o# 194(, S%I operated a #leet o# 1. %&')s. %o!estic route e6pansion was slow, due pri!arily to a lac1 o# ser iceable air#ields. As ground #acilities beca!e a ailable, S%I e6tended its ser ice #irst to towns in the 7a4d and southern regions, then to the northern co!!unities o# the 0ingdo!. *he airline also began ser ice to neighboring countries, with #lights #ro! -eddah to 5eirut, &airo, and %a!ascus.

5y -une 1949, the #leet had grown to 15 %&')s and 5 5ristol 1(.s. $ntil this ti!e, aircra#t !aintenance had been carried out in the open air. 8owe er, by the early 195.s, the #irst !aintenance shops, which were built in -eddah, pro ided better and !ore e##ecti e wor1ing conditions. In 1952 S%I ac9uired #our %ouglas %&'4s, which pro ided the greater range needed #or operations to Mediterranean destinations. *wo years later the #irst o# 1. &on air )4.s entered ser ice. It was !uch #aster than the %&'), #lying #ro! -eddah to ,iyadh in an hour. 5y its 1.th anni ersary, S%I had brought all outlying co!!unities o# the 0ingdo! to within a short 4ourney o# one another. Its !ost i!portant connections were to -eddah, the local transportation hub #or the annual 8a44 pilgri!age. International ser ice also had begun to the Middle Eastern countries o# Egypt, :ebanon, and Syria. As recently as 193. !ost o# the 0ingdo!/s !a4or cities and towns were not lin1ed by pa ed roads. *his lac1 o# ade9uate sur#ace transportation intensi#ied the need #or #reighter ser ice as well as passenger tra el. *he airline responded by boosting its payload and range by introducing two %ouglas %&'3A :oad!asters in 1934. *hese e##icient air #reighters, with their large #reight'loading doors and strengthened #loors, also had the range to #ly to European capitals. *he airline entered the 4et age in 1932 with the purchase o# two 5oeing (2.5s, which it used to e6pand its international ser ice. In 1935 S%I began #lying to &asablanca ia 5eirut, *ripoli, and *unis, establishing the #irst direct air lin1 between the eastern and western hal es o# the Arab world. S%I also co!!enced operations to the European cities o# ;ran1#urt, +ene a, and :ondon. Airports were constructed at Abha, +i"an, Madinah, *abu1, and *ai# to per!it e6pansion o# do!estic routes. *hree %&'9s 4oined the #leet in 193(, and the #ollowing year S%I ac9uired two 5oeing (.(')3<s. *he 5oeing ()(s began to arri e in 19(2 =the year S%I changed its na!e to Saudia>, and this #leet o# wide'body, short' haul twin'4ets grew to 2.. ?assenger tra##ic grew tre!endously. 5y the !id'19(.s, the -eddah',iyadh route alone accounted #or 25.,... passengers a year, and e en !inor airports, such as those in Abha and +i"an, counted !ore than 1..,... a year. *he passenger total passed the one'!illion !ar1 in 19(), and it continued to grow at an unprecedented pace. *o acco!!odate the growth, in 19(5 Saudia began operating two o# the 214'seat :oc1heed :'1.11 *ristars. Saudia would e entually operate a total o# 2. :1.11s. *he -eddah',iyadh'%hahran route beca!e so e6tensi ely tra eled that in -une 19(3, Saudia introduced a no'reser ation shuttle ser ice. ?ea1 tra##ic reached 34,... passengers a !onth, !a1ing the trans'Arabian route one o# the busiest in the world.

In addition to its regular passenger and #reighter ser ice, Saudia pro ided pri ate ser ice #or the growing nu!ber o# business e6ecuti es and ad!inistrators with special needs. In 19(3, Saudia established a Special ;light Ser ices %i ision with airplanes ranging #ro! s!all ?iper Apaches to arious !odels o# the +ru!!an +ul#strea!. In 19(5, Saudia leased #our ;o11er ;'2( ;riendship twin'4ets =4<'seat !odels> and in 19<., two ;o11er ;'2< ;ellowships =3.'seat !odels> to !eet the growing de!ands o# do!estic ser ice. 8owe er, the 1..'seat capacity o# the 5oeing ()( soon beca!e the standard #or all e6cept the !ost dense do!estic routes. 5y the early 19<.s, the nu!ber o# Saudia international destinations had risen to ). #ro! 1), and the nu!ber o# its international airports had increased to #our. Saudia leased two )(('seat 5oeing (4('2..5s in -une 19(( to !eet the de!and #or tra el to European destinations. It later added routes #ro! -eddah to 7ew @or1 using 5oeing (4( Special ?er#or!ance =S?> !odels. Saudia also added ser ice to 5ang1o1, Manila, 7airobi, and Singapore. Saudia carried !ore than 11 !illion passengers in 19<), and de!and continued to increase. *he #leet grew with the lease o# large nu!bers o# aircra#t, including 24 %&'<s, 14 5oeing (4('2..s, and 14 :oc1heed &'1). #reighters. *hese airplanes 4oined an e6isting #leet o# 2. :oc1heed *riStars, 12 5oeing (4('1..s and 'S?s, 2. 5oeing ()(s, and 11 Airbus A)..54'3..s. *he 19<.s witnessed the inauguration o# direct #lights on trans'Atlantic ser ice to Aashington, %.&., #ro! both -eddah and ,iyadh. Seasonal ser ice was later opened to 2rlando, ;lorida. In 19<3 Saudia established an air cargo hub at 5russels, 5elgiu!, and a si!ilar hub in *aipei, *aiwan, in 19<<. In 199. an all' cargo route to *o1yo opened as an e6tension o# the *aipei ser ice. In 1995, Saudia #lew !ore than 12 !illion passengers on national and international #lights, and the airline celebrated its 5.th anni ersary with announce!ent o# a new airplane order #ro! 5oeing. 2n 2ctober 25, Saudi contracted to !oderni"e its #leet with the purchase o# 2) (((s, 5 (4(s, 29 M%'9.s, and 4 M%'11s. In %ece!ber 199(, Saudia too1 deli ery o# the #irst 5oeing airplanes #ro! the 1995 order, including a (4('4.., ((('2.., M%'11;, and M%'9.. *he e ent !ar1ed the #irst ti!e that 5oeing ('series airplanes and %ouglas ?roducts %i ision airplanes shared the sa!e stage.
5oeing &o!!ercial Airplane +roup is proud to present the history o# Saudi Arabian Airlines, an industry partner whose pro#itable and sa#e operations continue with the 5oeing (((, (4(, M%'9., and M%'11. All content is pro ided by Saudi Arabian Airlines. ' Editor