No-frills takes Saudi by storm

National Air Services CEO Ed Winter believes that the introduction of low fares flights out of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will encourage more Saudi Arabians to travel both domestically and regionally.

National Air Services CEO Ed Winter talks to Arabian Travel News about the massive potential for low cost carriers to flourish in the GCC market and the future of NASair.

When will National Air Services launch a full service carrier to rival Saudia Arabian Airlines?

I don't think there is any case for that any more. We used to always call ourselves LCCs, but I think it is a bit of a misnomer these days, especially in mature markets like Europe, the US or Australasia.

It has become the sensible way to operate an airline and the sensible way to fly. In the past, low cost was a particular market segment, but when you look at Europe and you look at the United States, it has become the major segment in the short-haul flight category. What we are doing with the LCC is providing everyday low fares, good service and frequent services.

Why does low cost have so much potential here?

Point to point travel in this region has had to be subservient to the needs of the long haul travellers, so the traditional carriers here use their large aircraft to fly to Europe or the subcontinent and Australasia, and then tag on bits of short haul, and then they are using big airplanes so you get low frequency. What we can provide, besides the everyday good fares, is good frequency.If you look at Dubai to Riyadh - nearly all the flights go late at night - Emirates and Saudia are good examples. But when we are allowed to fly international routes - which will be very soon - I see us providing a good service to Dubai three or four times a day, so people can choose their time of travel. It is designed for the convenience of the short-haul traveller.

When will NASair begin operations outside the Kingdom?

Very soon. It was a condition of our license from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in Saudia Arabia that we operate what are called public service operation routes -there are a bunch of routes in the Kingdom, which are now being shared between ourselves, Saudia and the other LCCs in the region.
We have seven aircraft operating in the Kingdom to 23 destinations in total. Now we want to fly internationally and there are two stages to that. We have been granted the rights to fly to a limited number of destinations in the region.

They range from places like Dubai, Egypt, Beirut, Amman, Aquaba; they are the key ones in the region that we can go to without having to spend a lot of time working on bilaterals.

The next stage is to explore many more routes where currently Saudi Arabia is currently the only nominated Saudi airline on the bilateral.

Those will take a little more negotiation, but the intent is that we will become a full national carrier operating domestically and internationally.

I see us providing regular services to all of the key cities in the region and potentially spreading well outside Saudi as well.

Exactly how will you structure your route network?

If you look at the whole region at the moment, there is little in the way of good quality short haul point-to-point operations. Obviously you have Air Arabia and Jazeera Airways, but it is a tiny percentage of the whole region.

I think that over a fairly short space of time, one or two key brands will become the predominant players [in the low cost short haul segment] in the region and those brands will become very well known, and people will gravitate towards those brands when they travel. I intend for NASair to be one of the leaders. Don't just think of us as a Saudi airline that pops in and out. We will be a regional airline.

What percentage of bookings are made online?

It's less than 10% at the moment, but it is climbing rapidly. In the Kingdom people don't have that level of internet penetration or the credit cards to do it with.

What I am looking at is to find ways in which we can find a smart way for people to book and pay in each region [in KSA], because that is going to vary from region to region. In some parts they will want to pay cash, and in other places that have certain banking options - whatever it is we have to make sure we are able to satisfy that requirement. I don't see any reason why this region shouldn't move in exactly the same way as Europe or anywhere else. Over time I think it will move to 99% internet credit card bookings.

Do you expect to see a sharp rise in the number of Saudi Arabians travelling outside the region when NASair goes international?

Very much so. If you look at it at the moment, the flight from Riyadh to Jeddah costs around about SAR 280 (US $75) on Saudia, whereas with us fares start from SAR 49 ($13).

If you fly from Riyadh to Dubai, which is roughly the same sector in terms of flight time, [Saudia] will charge you four times the price. Why should that be? I see our average fare as somewhere between SAR 350 and 400 ($94 and $108).

If you bring the fare down dramatically in that way, instead of coming over here once every three months, they will decide to do it much more often, and that is what low cost is all about.

I see no reason why Saudi Arabians shouldn't be excited about the ability to travel to Dubai, Cairo or Oman and visit friends and see a different culture.

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