{"id":340125,"date":"2025-12-12T06:48:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T06:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/saudia-cco-bullish-on-hitting-its-vision-2030-targets\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T06:48:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T06:48:26","slug":"saudia-cco-bullish-on-hitting-its-vision-2030-targets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=340125","title":{"rendered":"Saudia CCO \u2018bullish\u2019 on hitting its Vision 2030 targets"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Saudia is an airline on the move, guided by\u00a0a\u00a0transformative ambition\u00a0to\u00a0increase\u00a0its fleet,\u00a0expand\u00a0its network and\u00a0open the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the world as part of the Vision 2030 project.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Founded as\u00a0Saudi Arabian Airlines in 1945,\u00a0Saudia<\/a>\u00a0now\u00a0operates\u00a0a fleet of\u00a0over\u00a0140\u00a0aircraft\u00a0and\u00a0has built a network\u00a0covering\u00a0more than\u00a0100 destinations across four continents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the first six months of 2025, the Saudi Arabian flag carrier carried more than\u00a017.5 million passengers, marking a 7.2% increase compared to the same period in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At this year\u2019s World Travel Market in London,\u00a0AeroTime\u00a0spoke with\u00a0Saudia\u2019s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Arved von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen,\u00a0where\u00a0he made\u00a0clear that\u00a0transformation\u00a0and modernization\u00a0were\u00a0top priorities for the airline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see ourselves\u00a0like the\u00a0wings of Vision 2030, because\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0all about opening and connecting and bringing people into KSA. The targets are\u00a0very, very ambitious.\u00a0330 million guests, 150 million\u00a0tourists,\u00a0and 30 million pilgrims.\u00a0The country is really opening, and\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0changing so much, and we are the airline, so we needed to transform,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Saudia\"Saudia
Saudia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Vision 2030 is not only about the aviation\u00a0industry,\u00a0it is\u00a0a key\u00a0part\u00a0of the project\u00a0that aims to\u00a0\u201cdiversify the economy, empower\u00a0citizens, and create a vibrant environment for domestic and international investors\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cVision 2030 is about change and tourism is only one sector. There are many more points in Vision 2030\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0all about enhancing the lifestyle of the population of the Saudis. There\u2019s education, there\u2019s health care, there\u2019s entertainment, there are various pillars of the vision and tourism is one pillar,\u201d\u00a0explained von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Changing customer base\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen has impressive aviation pedigree holding\u00a0previous\u00a0CCO roles at both WestJet and Malaysia Airlines and\u00a0various\u00a0leadership positions at Qatar Airways,\u00a0SWISS\u00a0and Lufthansa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the interview he highlighted that the Saudi Arabian population is now dominated by young adults\u00a0with 68% of people in the county under 30.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

With such\u00a0dominance,\u00a0Saudia needed to move with the times and modernize, which is\u00a0perhaps reflected\u00a0in its decision to rebrand in 2023\u00a0with\u00a0a new logo,\u00a0aircraft\u00a0livery, and cabin crew uniforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Mr. Arved von zur Muehlen, Chief Commercial Officer of #Saudia<\/a>, delivered the welcoming remarks at the gala dinner during #IATAAviationDay<\/a> MENA 2025 in Jeddah, highlighting Saudi Arabia\u2019s tourism growth and Saudia\u2019s pivotal role in connecting the world to the Kingdom. pic.twitter.com\/7CCyi4MMEF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Saudia Group | \u0645\u062c\u0645\u0648\u0639\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0639\u0648\u062f\u064a\u0629 (@SaudiaGroup) May 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe have 35 million Saudis, so\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0the largest market in the Middle East and 68% are below 30.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a very young\u00a0population, very digital.\u00a0We had long queues in our City\u00a0Ticketing\u00a0Office\u00a0four years\u00a0ago\u00a0where people\u00a0were\u00a0waiting to do something.\u00a0We needed to\u00a0change,\u00a0so we went on a\u00a0full transformation program. Very digital\u00a0and\u00a0AI driven, and\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0very interesting, because\u00a0I think we\u00a0are the only airline of that size in the world that is transforming while\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0growing,\u201d explained von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Upcoming\u00a0aircraft\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Central to Saudia\u2019s transformation is the delivery of 116 planes\u00a0by 2030\u00a0comprised\u00a0of widebodies and narrowbodies and both Airbus and Boeing\u00a0aircraft.\u00a0The new arrivals will include 21 Boeing 787-10s, 13\u00a0787-9s, 62 Airbus A321neos and 15 A321XLRs.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0a good healthy mix. Next year, we will receive every month\u00a0an aircraft. And\u00a0in 2027 we will receive\u00a0aircraft\u00a0every week.\u00a0So,\u00a02027 is the year\u00a0when\u00a0we receive a lot of capacity,\u201d said von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen\u00a0<\/p>\n

Commenting on the deployment of the A321XLR, which\u00a0has\u00a0so far\u00a0been received by Iberia, Wizz Air, Aer Lingus,\u00a0Qantas,\u00a0and American Airlines, von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen said:\u00a0\u201cThe XLR can fly longer routes. At this point in time, we have 24 business class seats in the XLR.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0narrowbody\u00a0and has\u00a0a full suite\u00a0so\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a very nice\u00a0product.\u00a0It will\u00a0fly on\u00a0longer roads. We are not 100% sure yet where to deploy\u00a0but I think because slots\u00a0are\u00a0scarce\u00a0in the UK we will continue with\u00a0widebodies.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Importance of UK operations\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The UK is Saudia\u2019s largest market in terms of frequencies with 54 flights between the European country and Saudi Arabia.\u00a0These include flights to Birmingham Airport\u00a0(BHX), Manchester Airport\u00a0(MAN), London-Heathrow Airport\u00a0(LHR),\u00a0and London-Gatwick Airport\u00a0(LGW).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most recently in November 2025, Saudia launched\u00a0a three-weekly service<\/a> between Dammam King Fahd International Airport (DMM) and Heathrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Saudia\"Saudia
Alec Wilson \/ Creative commons \/ flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe UK is the most important market right now in Europe.\u00a0The UK is good for us in two senses. Firstly, we have a lot of interest into the Kingdom, because we have also a lot of Saudis living in the UK. We have a lot of third and fourth\u00a0freedom traffic\u00a0and then\u00a0there\u00a0is also connecting traffic from\u00a0the\u00a0UK to Indian subcontinent\u00a0and\u00a0beyond. We see\u00a0a very healthy\u00a0mix,\u201d explained\u00a0von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cAnd I\u00a0think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0fair to say that our strategy is\u00a0that\u00a0we focus more on third\u00a0and fourth\u00a0freedom, and then\u00a0sixth\u00a0freedom\u00a0fills\u00a0up.\u00a0If we hit 20-25% on transfer traffic\u00a0and 75-80% point to\u00a0point, then we\u00a0are\u00a0very happy\u00a0with that.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0a different strategy than most of our neighbors have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In October 2025, Delta Air Lines announced plans to become the first US airline to launch non-stop flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with flights set to\u00a0commence\u00a0in October 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And over the summer Wizz Air\u00a0became the first airline ever to\u00a0operate\u00a0a direct flight between Gatwick and Medina in Saudi Arabia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the increasing interest of airlines\u00a0operating\u00a0to Saudi Arabia, von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen and Saudia welcome\u00a0the\u00a0competition.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work closely with Delta and encouraged them to\u00a0look into\u00a0the market.\u00a0The same with Air France- KLM, which is also a SkyTeam partner of us, as they also fly into the\u00a0Kingdom.\u00a0We also encouraged Virgin Atlantic to come. We\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0see it as\u00a0competition\u00a0at all.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0an extended partnership for us. And again, it also offers me more opportunities.\u00a0So,\u00a0I think it\u00a0is a testament that\u00a0the whole tourism and the whole marketing we are doing and creating\u00a0interest\u00a0is really working,\u201d said von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Network expansion\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Despite the ongoing expansion of its network and fleet, Saudia believes that there\u00a0are\u00a0still many opportunities for the\u00a0airline,\u00a0especially in Europe and Africa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen, Saudia is also strong in Indonesia, Malaysia\u00a0and\u00a0Singapore\u00a0and is looking at destinations in China \u201cwhen the time is right\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Saudia\"Saudia
Saudia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen would like to see destinations that Saudia currently\u00a0flies\u00a0three times a week\u00a0to become\u00a0daily\u00a0services.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all\u00a0we will increase the depth of our network and then\u00a0our reach. If you look at Jeddah hub, we are very well positioned for Africa\u00a0and\u00a0Europe.\u00a0I think Europe\u00a0is\u00a0definitely\u00a0in\u00a0our focus,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a lot of\u00a0opportunities\u00a0for us.\u00a0Also,\u00a0Africa, we believe in Africa strongly.\u00a0We are very well positioned. Indian subcontinent,\u00a0the\u00a0Far East,\u00a0we have a good network, but\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a lot of opportunities still for us.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0why we ordered a lot of planes,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For now, von\u00a0zur\u00a0Muehlen says the key to unlocking more growth is the arrival of more\u00a0planes,\u00a0and the airline\u00a0remains\u00a0focused on its Vision 2030 ambitions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u00a0are very bullish, everybody is bullish. The whole tourism sector is bullish. I think the investment that flows into the country, or the country is\u00a0doing\u00a0in investing\u00a0in\u00a0tourism,\u00a0in\u00a0hotels,\u00a0is massive.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0a lot going on. Of course, we are looking at\u00a0what is happening in the market, but so far, we see rapid growth\u00a0in\u00a0passengers and interests.\u00a0So,\u00a0I feel we\u00a0are on\u00a0a very good\u00a0trajectory to hit\u00a0our\u00a0targets,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0concluded.\u00a0<\/p>\n