Saudi Arabian Airlines

Founded following a gift of a DC-3 from US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Joined the SkyTeam airline alliance.

Ordered up to 49 Boeing 787 Dreamliners to expand global network.

The scheduled domestic and international flights to destinations such as Jeddah, Riyadh, Hofuf, Dhahran, Cairo, Beirut, Amman and Damascus were launched, especially after the expansion of its fleet with a series of "DC- 3", "DC-4" and "Bristol-170 ".

The addition of a number of the domestic and international destinations for the Saudi Airlines flight routes such as Al Madinah Al Munawara, Buraidah, Jazan, Istanbul, Karachi, Kuwait, Asmara and others, as well as the purchase of 10 Confer 340 aircraft, and the enhancement of the flight fleet to reach the number of 20 aircraft. The steps that lead to the establishment of the core of the pilot training institute in the city of "Jeddah" in 1958 in conjunction with the continued expansion of the network of domestic and international flights of "The Saudi Airlines" and its fleet during this decade.

As of the year 1960, Saudi Airlines has entered the era of jet aviation as the first airline in the Middle East with two Boeing 720 models aircraft. A major expansion plan was then launched, including the opening of new domestic and international destinations (especially to European capitals), and continued to expand its aviation fleet by buying the modern aircraft. In 1963, the Royal Decree was issued, under which Saudi Airlines became an independent institution with a board of directors responsible for its management. In 1965, the Arab Air Carriers' Organization (AACO) was formed where the "Saudi Airline" was one of its founding members. In 1967, it joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA), concluding the sixties decade in 1969 with flights to all North African countries after the accession of Algeria to its flights network, and the entry of Saudi crews to operate all its aircraft of " DC - 9 " model.

This decade has seen a quantum leap for the Saudi Airlines' route thanks to the first oil boom experienced by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the high traffic to and from the Kingdom. In 1972, the company took "Saudi Arabia" as its official name and changed the visual identity of its colors to be of two colors: green and blue in addition to modernizing its fleet and increasing the number of its flights. After that, in the year 1973 the number of passengers on its flights reached one million passengers during a single year for the first time in its history. The number of passengers increased to 5 million in 1977, and the end of the seventies decade in 1979 with the transfer of 8 million passengers using more than 46 aircraft in its fleet. In addition to the launch of a new automated booking system in Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and London, and conducting a direct flight between Dhahran and New York. As well as linking air operations management with "FRIARS" system and the maintenance with "MEMIS" system.

This decade has seen the leap progress of the "Saudi Airlines" between the international airlines companies, where the number of passengers through its flights reached 9 million passengers, after a variety of modern aircraft have been joined its fleet of aircraft, and the variation of the destinations domestically and internationally, in addition to supporting the private flights with business and VIPs. In 1981, King Abdul Aziz International Airport was officially opened in Jeddah so that the hub of operations of Saudi Airlines becomes readier for further development and expansion, and the first catering units were established in Jeddah. In 1983, the Saudi Airlines jumped to become on the top of the airlines in the Middle East by the transportation of more than 11 million passengers continuing to enhance its services during this decade, the Company has developed the "horizon" class allocated for the businessman, and has operated the "SARS" automated reservation system in Jeddah. This coincided with the developments included the provision of the air fleet with the latest models of aircraft in that period, such as: "Boeing 747" and "Airbus 300" where it was considered as one of the first international airlines that used this developed type of aircraft.

This decade has seen a further consolidation of the status of the "Saudi Airlines" between the airlines in the Middle East and the world, continuing to open new destinations domestically and internationally, booking offices around the world, the development of systems for the establishment and cancellation of reservations, and the development of the "hospitality" class rather than the traditional economy class to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first launch in 1995. Where the ceremony witnessed the purchase of 61 passenger and cargo aircraft of the latest international models at the time, and the adoption of a new visual identity for its logo and colors in 1996 as well as the development of its organizational structure.

The Saudi Airlines has started a phase-out program to privatize its services. The decade has significantly seen the expansion and updating its services, where the system of smoking prevention has been implemented on domestic and international flights, in addition to obtaining the European Federation Aviation Authority's license for aircraft maintenance and its equipment registered in Europe, the establishment of the air service sector in full, the launch of the self-service system for the issuance of boarding passes, the adoption of electronic tickets instead of paper ones, and the establishment of a unified service center for booking. In 2009, Saudi Arabian Airlines added 70 aircraft to its fleet of a variety of models, notably the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330, to complete the decade with more than 18 million passengers on it flights' board.

So far: This decade witnessed the focus of the activity of the "Saudi Arabian Airlines" to become more modern and up to the age, based on a long history of experience and development that qualified it to achieve qualitative leaps, where it launched the "World of Saudi Arabia" for tourism, and turned to booking system "Amadeus" which forms a qualitative leap in the level of services, focused on sending student groups to study aviation sciences, joined the Sky Team Global Alliance, revamped its visual identity and new personality, its General Directorate of Training was accredited as a regional training center for IATA. The company achieved international awards in the discipline of flight schedules and tourist preference seats class, also it received an award of excellence in the air cargo industry, and began to launch the halls of "Al Fursan" in a range of domestic and international airports to serve the discerning customers. In addition to the development of its loyalty program (Al Fursan), which provides many advantages to customers, and provided a special guide printed Braille language for their blind customers to guide them on the flight, and continued to modernize its fleet to become the world's first operator of the Airbus A300 - Airbus A330. Also, it included "Airbus A320" aircraft and "Boeing Dreamliner", and many other modern models to its fleet of aircraft. Today, the "Saudi Arabian Airlines" has transported more than 29 million passengers a year.