The boss of Saudi Arabia's national airline has called for more carriers to enter the kingdom's aviation market to bring great competition and improve efficiency.

Khaled Al-Molhem, director general of Saudi Arabian Airlines, said more competition was needed to raise industry standards amid complaints of deteriorating services at the airline.

“We need more airlines to create competition and improve efficiency. Right now, people in the Kingdom are depending mainly on a single airline,” Al-Molhem said in comments published by Saudi daily Arab News on Tuesday.

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The Saudia chief blamed the kingdom’s substandard airport facilities for his airline’s poor services, saying they are inter-related, the paper added.

Plans to renovate airports in Jeddah and Riyadh would change the situation in the near future, Al-Molhem said.
He added that Saudi Airlines had incurred heavy losses as a result of low-ticket fares for domestic flights, which he claimed had not increased for 16 years.

The paper said Saudia passengers are increasingly critical of the airline’s services and Al-Molhem acknowledged that a lack of efficient and customer friendly staff was one of the airline’s main challenges.

Speaking at the Jeddah Economic Forum, he predicted that the number of pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah would increase to 30 million within a few years.

Saudi Arabian Airlines currently carries nearly 20 million passengers annually to about 100 destinations.
It has a fleet of 137 aircraft and is awaiting delivery of 12 more by the end of the year, according to its website.