Riyadh Air Sees Strong Demand For Kuala Lumpur Route, Eyes Daily Flights
SEPANG, July 31 (Bernama) -- Riyadh Air has identified Kuala Lumpur as its first Southeast Asian destination on the back of strong travel demand between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, with plans to increase its current three-times-weekly service to daily flights, its chief commercial officer Vincent Coste said.
Coste said Malaysia was chosen as the airline’s first destination in the region due to strong travel demand in both directions, with Saudi travellers visiting Malaysia mainly for leisure while Malaysians travelled to Saudi Arabia for religious purposes, business and, increasingly, tourism.
“We see a huge potential in terms of development. We start with three flights a week, but our intent for this route is to go daily very rapidly.
“We started to operate our first flights in June, so we have opened a number of destinations already, such as Jeddah, Dubai and Cairo. We are planning to operate 100 destinations by 2030," he told reporters after welcoming Riyadh Air’s inaugural flight from Riyadh at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 here today.
The Riyadh Air inaugural flight from Riyadh landed at KLIA at 12.03 pm today, with Coste and Malaysia’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Datuk Syed Mohamad Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman among those on board, and they were received by Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Malaysia Osamah Dakhel R. Al-Ahmadi.
Malaysia Airports managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani was also present.
Coste said demand for connections to Jeddah, particularly for umrah travel, is expected to increase, while stronger transit traffic to Europe, Africa and other international destinations via Riyadh is anticipated from next year.
On competition from established Middle Eastern carriers, Coste said Riyadh Air’s strength lies in serving strong point-to-point demand while leveraging Riyadh’s position as the capital of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) largest country.
“Riyadh is a capital city of 8.5 million people. So this is our key differentiator compared to the big hubs in the region. We have very strong point-to-point traffic and this is the purpose of Riyadh Air," he said.
He also said the airline has established partnerships with several international carriers and sees opportunities to develop a relationship with Malaysia Airlines in the future to enhance regional connectivity.
“Malaysia Airlines is a fantastic airline and will certainly establish some relationship with them. And as you all know, Saudi Arabia also has huge tourism ambitions as part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. And this is also going to become a great tourism destination for the Malaysian market,” said Coste.
On major international sporting events, including the Formula One (F1) Bahrain Gulf Air Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) this October, Coste said Riyadh Air expects them to contribute positively to passenger demand, as its non-stop Kuala Lumpur-Riyadh service offers travellers a more convenient alternative to connecting through other regional hubs.
Meanwhile, Coste said the airline expects cargo operations on the Kuala Lumpur-Riyadh route to include fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables, as well as other perishable goods, with Kuala Lumpur serving as a consolidation point for shipments from across Southeast Asia.
-- BERNAMA