Jeddah, SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) has soared in the annual Brand Finance® Top 50 airlines annual report, which is a review of the most valuable and strongest airline brands worldwide.

Saudi Arabia’s national flag carrier has grown by 13.1%, with an ‘A’ brand rating.

The double-digit growth has resulted in SAUDIA being rated the ‘fastest growing airline brand’ in the Middle East.

Every year, the brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance® evaluates 5,000 of the ‘biggest brands’ and publishes approximately 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries.

In addition to formulating brand value, Brand Finance® also determines the relative strength of brands through a scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance.

The airline’s latest achievement - fastest growing airline brand in the Middle East – reflects SAUDIA’s surge in brand performance, which is attributed to overall growth in its route network; expansion to new markets; growth in passenger numbers, and enhancements in the onboard product, lounges, and guest services.

New introductions include the opening of the world’s largest SkyTeam lounge,
SAUDIA’s AlFursan flagship lounge at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International airport; onboard chef service; and state-of-the-art IFE system with world-class connectivity.

SAUDIA Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Khaled Tash spoke about delivering impact, which shines through in the ratings: “the airline’s brand is symbolic of the brand of the nation. With the tourism ecosystem flourishing and the number of visitors at an exceptional all-time high level, SAUDIA is well-positioned to continue accelerating as the wings of the country’s Vision 2030.”

As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia plans to increase the number of tourists to 100 million and the number of religious visitors to 30 million a year by 2030.

SAUDIA’s fleet stands at nearly 150 narrow and widebody Airbus and Boeing aircraft, operating to more than 100 destinations.

The airline is adding 10 new routes to the network this year, which includes recently launched cities: Amsterdam (Netherlands), Entebbe (Uganda), and Bangkok (Thailand), with Barcelona (Spain), Marrakech (Morocco), Malaga (Spain), Moscow (Russia), Beijing (China), the Greek island of Mykonos, Seoul (South Korea), and Chicago (USA) coming soon.

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About SAUDIA

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) is the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Established in 1945, the company is one of the Middle East’s largest airlines.

In recent years the airline has invested significantly in its fleet of narrow and widebody aircraft and operates one of the youngest fleets in the skies, with an average aircraft age of 5 years.

The airline operates a route network which includes more than 100 destinations across four continents, including all domestic airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

SAUDIA is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) as well as a member airline in the SkyTeam alliance since 2012.

Saudi Arabia’s national flag carrier was named the Middle East’s Fastest Growing Airline in 2022 by Brand Finance® and World’s Most Improved Airline in 2021 by Skytrax. SAUDIA also received the prestigious accolade in 2017.

The carrier is ranked as a Global Five-Star Major Airline by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) and has been awarded the Diamond status by APEX Health Safety powered by SimpliFlying, in recognition of the airline’s extensive safety measures in response to the pandemic.