Saudi Arabia's flag carrier Saudia will soon add another Asian destination to its network by launching flights to Seoul in South Korea. The airline has recently launched flights to several destinations as it eyes a return to regular operations after the pandemic.

Flight to Seoul

From August 16th, Saudia will start connecting the Kingdom with Seoul by launching a direct service to the South Korean capital. The airline has confirmed that it will deploy its aircraft from Jeddah to Seoul with a stopover in Riyadh.

Flight SV898 will leave Jeddah at 01:00 and, after a brief stop at Riyadh, arrive at Incheon International airport at 19:50 local time. The return service SV899 will take off from Seoul at 21:40, arrive in Riyadh at 02:10, and finally land in Jeddah at 04:45.

Ahmed Alwassiah, acting chief executive officer at Saudia, commented,

“Saudia’s debut into South Korea will mean more choices for travelers from both countries and beyond to our far-reaching network, alongside our signature hospitality and award-winning onboard experience.”

“Saudia is committed to creating new opportunities for business and tourism and strengthening the bilateral ties between Saudi Arabia and South Korea. This direct route will have a positive impact not only on the tourism sector, but also the business, logistics, investment, and manufacturing sector as it aims to serve multiple segments of guests.”

Saudia will deploy its Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the route, which is configured in two classes, with 24 flatbed seats in business class and 274 seats in economy.

Other routes

Seoul is part of Saudia's wider network expansion as the airline recently launched services to several destinations, including Zurich, Mykonos, Barcelona, and Bangkok.

The carrier's Zurich service from Riyadh returned after a gap of 12 years when it last flew between the two destinations in 2010. With flights on Wednesdays and Sundays, the airport pair will run until the end of the summer season. Saudia deploys very low-capacity, 110-seat A320s, with 20 business seats and just 90 in economy.

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It further bolstered its seasonal summer schedule in July by starting services to Mykonos and Barcelona, and offering an overall 6.5 million seats on 30,000 flights in July and August.

Possibility of a profit this year

The airline is operating at more than two-thirds of its pre-pandemic capacity and could find itself returning to profitability much earlier than initial projections. The carrier's CEO has said that Saudia could become profitable again as early as this year.

Travel demand has grown faster than expected, and the airline operated over 44% more flights in the first quarter of 2022 compared to last year, with over 40,000 flights.

With more than 150 aircraft in its fleet, Saudia is one of the region's key players and also expects to add more aircraft from December onwards. The kingdom has set an ambitious goal of attracting 100 million tourists by the end of the decade, and consolidating Saudia's fleet and network is a big part of that project.

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