SkyTeam alliance welcomes Saudia as 1st Middle East member

The global airline alliance SkyTeam officially welcomed Saudi Arabian Airlines as the first member airline from the Middle East, giving the alliance a strong foothold in the region.

“We are very delighted to join the SkyTeam and we are looking for more partnership with [SkyTeam] members,” the airline manager in Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam Ali A. Al Mowalled said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Saudia had become the16th member of the alliance, he said.

From its hubs in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, Saudia operates a comprehensive network throughout the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Sub-continent and Northern Africa, he added.

By joining the alliance, Saudia adds 51 new destinations to SkyTeam’s global network, including 23 within Saudi Arabia, Islamabad, Pakistan; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Alexandria, Egypt.

“Saudia’s membership adds value to the alliance by opening up the considerable Saudi Arabian market to our customers,” Michael Wisbrun, SkyTeam’s managing director, said in a statement.