Saudia relaunches direct flights to Vienna

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) relaunched direct flights to Vienna on Saturday after a break of eight years.

The new service from King Abdulaziz International Airport Jeddah, which includes a stopover at King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, will operate four days a week – Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

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The service will be operated by an Airbus A320, with a two-class configuration of Business and Economy. The total journey time between Riyadh and Vienna will be under five and-a-half hours.

The traditional water cannon salute welcomed the inaugural flight on Saturday, with senior officials in attendance, including Saudia CEO Jan Albrecht.

Saudia ceased operating the service in January 2010, but has been reintroduced as part of the airline’s plans to grow its network.

“Saudia is pleased to be re-introducing Vienna to the airline’s global destination route map after a stop in services in 2010,” Abdulrahman Altayeb, vice president, corporate communications, Saudia, said earlier this year. 

“Vienna joins a range of other new routes to launch this summer season, and is a city that is popular with travellers both for leisure and business.”

The flag carrier of Saudi Arabia is expected to operate new services to Moscow, Malaga and Izmir this summer.

Earlier this month, the national carrier took delivery of its 22nd and 23rd new A320 aircraft, bring the total number of A320s delivered this year to ten.

Saudia also took delivery of two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, bringing its main airline fleet to a total of 148 aircraft, which also includes Airbus A330s and Boeing 777s.