Birmingham: Saudia Flight Status, Hub News & Discussion

[IanFarquharson]

Good to see yet another full loaded 78X on todays inbound flight which is really encouraging for future growth.

 

[Birmingham Aviation]

Ian even Thursdays inbound is more or less full.

 

[Brum X]

But what are you hearing generally about the route Ian , is everyone happy with the routes performance ?

It's one thing having a few busy weeks every now and then but I also remember some weeks during the summer months where the load factor was only in the 50s% which isn't very good imho ?

 

[IanFarquharson]

But what are you hearing generally about the route Ian , is everyone happy with the routes performance ?

It's one thing having a few busy weeks every now and then but I also remember some weeks during the summer months where the load factor was only in the 50s% which isn't very good imho ?

Last few weeks the loads have been 90%+

Hopefully the 50% days are behind us ?

 

[Scania1800]

Last few weeks the loads have been 90%+

Hopefully the 50% days are behind us ?

All thanks to Saudias new trick in the book, they have the lowest prices right now to Asia, I have seen tickets sore with families after families booking to go to Asia, they also offering a very good priced package to medina for umrah visits

 

[gulftraveller]

All thanks to Saudias new trick in the book, they have the lowest prices right now to Asia, I have seen tickets sore with families after families booking to go to Asia, they also offering a very good priced package to medina for umrah visits

It’s not so new. Being competitive on fares is the only way Saudia can compete against the ME3. Anecdotally, their passenger yields to/from UK are not great but cargo is a major earner.

 

[nwoody2001]

Well with frequencies now reduced back to 3x weekly, Load Factors in September are running at an impressive 88% on average across Saudia Flights

 

[RichL]

Just looking at another forum that has the word airliners in it and some know-it-all going on about poor loads:-

I just looked at some Q1 traffic for BHX-JED and surprised at two things: How much O&D traffic there is, and how poor the load factors are.

I stopped visiting that site some time ago due to the phallic-waving nature of some of its posters but was taken aback a little by this comment. Obviously I'm not 'ITK' but the comments above (here I mean) seem to say otherwise?

 

[Seasider]

I think Saudia are trying to build up traffic for connections but also for tourism. If this is the case, they will put up with the poor loads initially but there will come a time that unless it is making money, they will cut it.

 

[gulftraveller]

Improving connections needs a reworking of the schedule into waves. As for tourism, we are a long way from that. I suspect that the arrival of Riyadh Air will change many things for Saudia.

 

[thunderchild]

I remember when Turkish started and they struggled x5 weekly with an A319 - look at them now.

If Saudia were struggling would we be seeing so many 787-10s?

 

[nwoody2001]

Just looking at another forum that has the word airliners in it and some know-it-all going on about poor loads:-

I just looked at some Q1 traffic for BHX-JED and surprised at two things: How much O&D traffic there is, and how poor the load factors are.

I stopped visiting that site some time ago due to the phallic-waving nature of some of its posters but was taken aback a little by this comment. Obviously I'm not 'ITK' but the comments above (here I mean) seem to say otherwise?

In fairness, Q1 loads were horrific - May and June especially with average loads of 40-50% but then this is also the low season for that side of the year! August however was the busiest Month on record for Saudia and load factors for Sept averages out at close to 88% in September!

At present, SV are keeping up with the likes of EK/QR/TK so I’m pretty confident things are ok but yes, with a new kid on the block against establish completion, there will be hurdles!

 

[Matt995]

my estimated load factors on the Jeddah flights for 2024, based on FR24 data, and Planespotters seat maps:-

no idea what happened in May 🤔

 

[whateverg]

Interesting, I seem to remember reading at one point that they were getting higher LFs then this. Any idea how these compare to other parts of their network such as MAN and LGW?

 

[David_itl]

Looking at Scottie Dog's numbers, MAN is from 60% to 75%, As long as everyone remembers that the typical way that more commercial airlines operate and the likes of government owned airlines like Saudia operate are vastly different as the latter will normally introduce and stay on routes that on their own appear to be loss-making but bring in visitors to that country which cancels out the losses. its only where the numbers are absolutely horrendous would you see a route being pulled.

 

[gulftraveller]

It is hard to assess how important cargo is on the SV routes, nor the premium uptake. If SV’s idea is to attract tourists, it is wishful thinking for the time being.

 

[rollo]

The August CAA figure gives a total passenger figure from Jeddah of 7,439 i don't know the load factor guessing around 70% (help Matt ) but an improvement even with the extra weekly flight added in.

 

[Matt995]

The August CAA figure gives a total passenger figure from Jeddah of 7,439 i don't know the load factor guessing around 70% (help Matt ) but an improvement even with the extra weekly flight added in.

great guess rollo 👍 I make it a load factor of 68%

 

[rollo]

Cheers Mattt.

 

[Scania1800]

The August CAA figure gives a total passenger figure from Jeddah of 7,439 i don't know the load factor guessing around 70% (help Matt ) but an improvement even with the extra weekly flight added in.

It’s increased up to 10K with the addition of advertising!