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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
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01:19 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
01:25 Thank you.
01:27 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
01:47 Thank you very much.
01:48 As you said, the program was established in 2021.
01:51 The reason the program was established in 2021
01:55 was because the strategy that you mentioned,
01:59 the national strategy for inbound travel,
02:04 what direction is it going to be in 2030?
02:07 We will have 70 million tourists,
02:11 and 70 million international tourists.
02:14 And we know that if you had direct access to international
02:21 travel, or direct access to international travel,
02:24 it would be easier to get to the final destination.
02:29 And we're trying to develop this,
02:31 the idea of having direct air traffic.
02:34 We see that the first is from Jeddah and Cairo,
02:37 with 5 million seats annually.
02:39 And the second is between Riyadh and Dubai,
02:41 with 4,000 seats.
02:42 What does that mean?
02:44 That means that the trips that we want
02:48 are connected to other places in the world.
02:52 And through direct air traffic, we
02:55 can enhance the markets.
02:58 That's why we established the program,
03:00 the direct air traffic, to establish direct travel
03:05 between international markets, not just between Riyadh,
03:09 Jeddah, Dammam, and Medina, which are the four main airports,
03:13 but also on the level of the 29 airports in the Kingdom.
03:19 Yes.
03:20 We are now talking about three years
03:24 since the program was established.
03:26 What are the most important points that are being counted today,
03:28 or as achievements, Mr. Majid, to achieve the goals
03:33 that were achieved over the past three years?
03:37 I mean, when we look three years back to what
03:40 the situation was like three years ago,
03:43 and to highlight some of the accomplishments that were
03:46 achieved, this was represented by the main strategies
03:51 of Flynas, Flydeal, and Saudi, which are the two companies,
03:55 in addition to Wazir Zia, which are among the local air companies.
03:59 And we know that they have more than 300 planes,
04:05 and they will work to increase their number of planes.
04:09 And so this can help to reduce the number of tourists
04:13 coming to the Kingdom.
04:15 In addition, this is the first time that China is connecting
04:20 with Chinese airlines from Beijing to Riyadh.
04:27 It is a good thing for the connection from Shanghai
04:32 to Riyadh, and in addition to flights from Beijing to Riyadh.
04:36 So we're talking about three airlines.
04:40 As for the European market, it is very important for us.
04:44 Etarways will start direct flights to Jeddah and Riyadh
04:49 starting from its location in Rome.
04:51 And this will help us not only attract Italian tourists
04:56 to the Kingdom, but also American and Brazilian tourists,
05:01 because Etarways has a wide network to North and South America.
05:07 And finally, Eurowings, which is an airline from Germany,
05:12 will start direct flights between Berlin and Jeddah,
05:16 and between Cologne and Jeddah at a later stage this year.
05:22 As for the number, what does that mean?
05:25 This year, we have been able to attract four airlines
05:30 during these four months, which will help us
05:34 to encourage foreign tourists to the Kingdom.
05:38 This raises questions, Mr. Majid, since we are talking
05:41 about China's entry as an important line for the Kingdom.
05:46 What are the criteria for choosing a destination
05:51 and starting the process of connecting with it
05:54 as airlines or even for airlines?
05:59 I mean, we are, I always say that we don't select the carrier,
06:05 but we like to choose the airport,
06:08 but rather than to indicate the carrier,
06:12 we want to know whether it's a short-haul airline
06:15 or a long-haul airline, or a long-haul airline.
06:19 So, for instance, I don't believe that we can
06:22 by any means, we can select a carrier,
06:24 but we understand that it's not the airline
06:26 that has to be selected, and we don't have any criteria
06:29 for all airlines.
06:31 We look at all the conditions and we look at what all airlines
06:34 are offering.
06:36 When we look at airlines with a limited cost,
06:39 we know that they are looking for the cost of the flight,
06:43 in addition to the main points, and they allow
06:46 to lower the cost of the business marketing,
06:50 and that allows it to start off well.
06:54 So, as we know, the demand is high,
06:57 the supply is low, and the cost is high.
07:01 The cost of the flight is high,
07:04 which means that the cost is currently suffering,
07:08 and this is a basic way of dealing with a competitive market
07:13 like the Kingdom.
07:15 But to what extent today, crises and wars
07:20 are re-staging the strategies, Mr. Majid,
07:25 and are we facing a change in the course of these crises
07:30 that could affect the program in general?
07:35 I mean, aviation has always been a fragile sector,
07:43 and what we need is not only a dynamic sector,
07:48 of course, it cannot be the same every day
07:51 in terms of airports.
07:54 We can talk about a number of crises, wars, tensions,
07:59 Corona, and we have to adapt to the tense situation every day.
08:04 I don't think we're going to change our goals,
08:07 which is clear, but we have to find new ways.
08:11 As I said before, when we talk about war,
08:15 war is a basic problem, of course,
08:18 but the Kingdom is a safe country,
08:22 which provides security for tourists,
08:25 and if we look at the movement between Europe and Asia,
08:29 in 2019, there were about 140 million travelers
08:35 between Asia and Europe,
08:37 and half of those had a single stop.
08:43 So, we have a big part of them in the Middle East,
08:46 and what does it mean to bring that in?
08:50 It means going back to the supply again.
08:53 When the supply is increased,
08:55 it increases the price of travel,
08:58 and it helps to encourage travelers to travel long distances.
09:05 We are a new alternative.
09:08 We are a safe place, and if you have the same goal in Southern Europe,
09:14 you would like to explore new locations.
09:18 So, for the airlines, we have half the population in the Kingdom.
09:24 So, what does that mean for the airlines operating in the Kingdom?
09:29 It shows that the cost of the airline is less,
09:32 it's less expensive,
09:34 and it's less expensive to travel,
09:38 and it's less expensive to travel.
09:41 So, we have a lot of competition,
09:44 and we have a lot of competition,
09:47 because we are untouched,
09:50 and we are a safe country,
09:53 and as I mentioned before,
09:56 most of the airlines go through the main locations in the area,
10:01 and we have a lot of competition.
10:04 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:07 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:10 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:13 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:16 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:19 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:22 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:25 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:28 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:31 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:34 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:37 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:40 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:43 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:46 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:49 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:52 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:55 So, we have a lot of competition.
10:58 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:01 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:04 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:07 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:10 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:13 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:16 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:19 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:22 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:25 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:28 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:31 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:34 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:37 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:40 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:43 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:46 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:49 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:52 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:55 So, we have a lot of competition.
11:58 So, we have a lot of competition.
12:01 So, we have a lot of competition.
12:04 So, we have a lot of competition.
12:07 So, we have a lot of competition.
12:10 So, we have a lot of competition.
12:13 So, we have a lot of competition.
12:16 [Music]
12:25 Welcome again.
12:27 We continue our conversation tonight with Mr. Majid Khan,
12:29 the CEO of the Aerial Connection Program.
12:32 Mr. Majid, welcome again.
12:35 You were talking to me before the break about some of the preferential features.
12:38 Today, what are the types of these features that airlines may have
12:43 when they are opening the air with them or even for countries?
12:46 And, do they differ from one country to another?
12:49 I mean, when we look on the Saudi market, of course, as I mentioned earlier,
12:54 we are a competitive market.
12:57 We have a geographical location,
13:00 and we are a point of connection between the East and the West,
13:04 between the North and the South.
13:07 And, we are of course providing a good price
13:11 for the airlines.
13:14 And, we are dealing with important partners,
13:17 and we know that this can bring some essential issues to some markets.
13:24 Recently, for example, GACA has signed an agreement with Polonia,
13:31 and this allows any point in Polonia or any location in the Saudi Arabian Kingdom,
13:38 and this directly helps the Air Link Program.
13:41 Because when we go to the airlines,
13:44 we are able to fly hundreds of flights to the Kingdom
13:48 compared to the competition.
13:51 And, if the bilateral relations are not there,
13:54 the airlines cannot fly their flights that easily.
13:59 I'm always mentioning Scandinavia as an example.
14:02 I mean, we see a lot of great opportunities
14:06 for markets like Scandinavia,
14:09 but in terms of the bilateral relations,
14:12 a small number of flights can be flown from one Scandinavian point to another.
14:17 So, a market like Polonia,
14:20 which has about 50 million people,
14:23 which of course opens up a lot of opportunities for the Polish and Saudi airlines,
14:29 to work from different locations in the Kingdom,
14:33 and therefore, the opening of the airspace
14:37 creates new opportunities for us,
14:40 and this helps us promote the Kingdom again,
14:44 because it is a goal and it is a possibility,
14:48 in addition to these new ways that do not only attract tourists,
14:53 but also create opportunities for exporting companies,
14:57 and also opportunities for business projects,
15:00 and to build cultural and innovative job opportunities.
15:04 Every new route creates new jobs,
15:07 and that is definitely a new way to open up new markets,
15:11 and that is definitely beneficial for the Kingdom's economy.
15:15 But in contrast to this distinction,
15:17 what are the challenges today to open the airspace, Mr. Majid?
15:21 Especially since the Kingdom has been through many crises,
15:25 as we mentioned, starting with the coronavirus crisis,
15:28 the wars that broke out between Russia and Ukraine,
15:32 and many confrontations for these crises.
15:35 What is the biggest challenge that we can talk about today
15:39 about the continuity of the link between Saudi Arabia and other countries?
15:44 In terms of opening the skies, as I mentioned,
15:48 Polonia and by doing so,
15:51 we might not be able to see some new challenges
15:56 that we face in the Kingdom.
15:59 This is something we have to work on.
16:02 We naturally need to open our policies.
16:05 I can give an example of that in Europe,
16:08 given the policy of open air,
16:11 this encourages markets,
16:13 and when markets become encouraged,
16:15 this helps to reduce prices.
16:18 And naturally, this is not the main problem.
16:22 The main problem is that we have limited capabilities compared to the size of the country.
16:28 We have 29 airports in the Kingdom,
16:32 and we have 250 aircraft from local airlines,
16:37 and we have strategic partners.
16:40 We are in close cooperation with them,
16:43 but we also need airlines,
16:46 and we need to be able to work and help us to grow our inbound tourism.
16:52 To answer your question about the challenges,
16:55 I can tell you that the problem is supply.
16:58 The problem is supply,
17:00 and we are working a lot on the supply side,
17:03 because any airline that we are talking about,
17:06 we have more connections, more work,
17:09 we have more ways coming,
17:11 yes, we can work in the coming years,
17:14 but we need to develop policies,
17:17 and this process takes months, years, or weeks.
17:21 The problem is about convincing airlines about the Saudi market,
17:28 and if there is not enough airlines,
17:31 this is the main challenge.
17:33 For example, we do not have enough capacity at the airport level.
17:40 We can say that the new King Salman Airport,
17:44 which will be ready in the coming years,
17:47 will help us with the policy of air connection,
17:51 because it will provide us with a foundation.
17:56 So, we can of course talk about the many challenges we have faced.
18:04 The challenge for air connection is that
18:07 we have to speed up the process,
18:10 to work on the level of achieving our goals in Riyadh.
18:14 We have millions of passengers who have come,
18:18 and with regard to King Salman Airport,
18:21 it will have the capacity to accommodate hundreds of millions,
18:25 which means that we have to develop the current airlines,
18:29 and therefore we use additional airlines
18:32 to increase the size of these planes.
18:38 So, I think this is the main challenge,
18:41 in addition to the delivery,
18:43 and I think we have all the goals we set according to the national policy,
18:48 and we are on the right track.
18:52 This raises questions,
18:54 so what are the targeted markets?
18:56 We are now talking about the King Salman International Airport,
18:59 and the main plan that we have started to hear about,
19:02 and also the International Red Sea Airport.
19:05 What are the most important markets now,
19:08 according to these projects and these plans,
19:11 that you are focusing on in the near future, Mr. Majid?
19:14 Sure, our first priority is of course,
19:24 I mean, we have been growing fruits.
19:27 I mean, that's obviously GCC,
19:29 we grow GCC,
19:30 we are trying to expand our work with the Gulf countries,
19:34 because we see that this exchange with the partner countries
19:39 should increase and lead to high-speed airports.
19:43 In addition to that,
19:45 we are focusing on Asia, China, Korea, Japan,
19:49 in addition to the South and East Asia.
19:52 And I am talking for example about the Indonesian markets,
19:55 which include 300 million travelers,
19:58 and they come to perform their age,
20:01 but they are also traveling to Europe or Turkey,
20:05 if they are not going to the gathering.
20:09 What does it mean that we have to promote to the Kingdom
20:13 that it is a tourist destination in markets like Malaysia,
20:16 in markets like Indonesia,
20:18 where it is possible, for example,
20:20 to travel to perform their age,
20:23 and also for tourism.
20:25 This is encouraging markets and encouraging travelers
20:28 to provide one ticket price.
20:31 As for Australia, it is also one of the main destinations.
20:34 We know that it is far away,
20:36 and that's why I am focusing on South Asia,
20:40 because these sites are essential,
20:43 and of course we can get close to them by markets like Singapore,
20:48 Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur.
20:52 And when we look west,
20:55 we look at Europe,
20:58 as I said earlier,
21:00 that the European air routes are struggling
21:03 to go to Asia due to the Russian airlock.
21:07 And I will notice that this is a challenge for them
21:17 that the flight time is increasing,
21:22 and that's a challenge for them as well.
21:25 And of course, from any point in Europe,
21:27 you can get to Saudi Arabia also.
21:31 So, Europe will be an important area,
21:34 not only for our air routes,
21:38 but also for the regular European air routes,
21:43 with the same cost.
21:45 I am also encouraging them to deal more with the regular air routes,
21:54 because when we work with these main routes,
21:57 that's because we are obliged to do so.
22:00 But we have to innovate more with the regular air routes.
22:04 We are also focusing on Brazil,
22:08 on South America,
22:10 which is one of the main markets
22:12 that we are working on.
22:16 And also from the United States and Canada.
22:19 We have long-term plans,
22:23 we have the possibility to go from the Canadian and American markets,
22:29 so that they can start their journey from the Kingdom,
22:32 and reach the Arab Kingdom,
22:35 instead of putting their efforts and their focus on the competitors.
22:39 Yes, the last question is also about the acquisition of the capabilities
22:42 for the "Air Connection" program, Mr. Majid.
22:45 And also for the Saudi citizens,
22:47 how do you deal with that?
22:50 I would say we are lucky to have a...
22:54 I mean, Saudi Arabia is a big country.
22:57 The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a country of 37 million people,
23:01 and we have a large number of talents and young talents.
23:06 So, to achieve our important goals for us,
23:10 in addition to seeing this great nation,
23:14 this is the team that I work with.
23:17 And I believe that if we deal with the passionate Saudi youth in their country,
23:24 and those who have a lot of experience,
23:26 this is essential, this is a national duty.
23:29 The "Air Connection" is a national duty,
23:33 and this is the message that we give to the programs,
23:36 or we give it through the "Air Connection" program,
23:40 which is creating new job opportunities that affect the national economy in a positive way,
23:46 and directly or indirectly,
23:48 because it must be created job opportunities in hotels, museums, and airlines.
23:54 This is our national duty,
23:56 and our focus is to get used to the basic level.
24:00 And this is in the program,
24:03 and to strengthen the local skills and expertise,
24:06 and to move this nation to wider areas.
24:09 Thank you, Mr. Majid Khan, the CEO of the "Air Connection" program.
24:14 You were with us on the subject and about the most important strategies of this program.
24:19 Thank you for being with us tonight on the subject.
24:25 We will continue our tour of the "Air Connection" program,
24:30 and its strategies to strengthen the tourism sector,
24:33 and the Vision 2030.
24:35 We will meet again next week with a new file from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
24:40 Thank you. Goodbye.
24:43 [Music]