Qatar Airways eyes launch of Saudi airline

Qatar Airways is the first carrier to express an interest in operating a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia’s domestic market, the airline announced on Tuesday.

The carrier said that its CEO, Akbar Al Baker, had held talks with the new chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Prince Fahad bin Abdullah Al Saud to discuss the kingdom’s new aviation policy.

Last year, GACA announced that it would open up domestic flights in the country to foreign carriers, with licenses due to be issued from September this year. The market is currently a duopoly consisting of state-run Saudi Arabian Airlines and low-cost carrier nasair.

Since that decision was made, GACA has confirmed that 14 carriers – both foreign and domestic – had expressed an interest, although none of the names of those parties were released.

However, Al Baker expressed concern over two key areas that have bedeviled the domestic aviation scene in the kingdom: high fuel charges and the government’s policy of subsidising airfares.

Both those issues have contributed to Saudia and nasair sustaining heavy losses in recent years, while a third player, SAMA, was forced out of the market two years ago.

The CEO said that while Qatar Airways was “keen” to invest in the market, “this was dependent on a fundamental rethink by the government of certain factors which needed to be tackled”.

Low-cost carrier flydubai has ruled itself out of the running for a domestic licence in Saudi Arabia, but Emirates, Gulf Air and Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways have thus far not clarified their position.