Tourism & Hospitality | Thursday 22 February, 2018 3:35 am |

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) has introduced new domestic fare ‘families’ starting from February 20th this year, for air travel on routes within the Kingdom.

Similar to what is currently available for SAUDIA’s international flights, there are now new categories for flight purchases.

The new fare ‘families’ are available in Guest Class (Economy), Business Class, and First Class.

The names of the new ‘families’ will be:

• Economy Class:        Saver, Basic, and Flex
• Business Class:         Basic, and Flex
• First Class:                Flex

 

In each ‘family’ category there are specific fare rules, and also a different price range for each fare type.

Introducing fare families for pricing is a common industry-wide practice, and SAUDIA is aligning its domestic fares with the already available international fare categories, for the purpose of giving travelers a range of options when choosing their travel plans. The new fare categories will enable travelers to decide which fare type suits them and their travel needs, allowing for additional flexibility and choices when making travel plans.

In the new Economy Saver fare, travelers can benefit from new lower prices with applicable conditions. One piece of hand Baggage (7 Kgs) is included in the fare, as well as meal service (on certain routes) and AlFursan miles accrual. Checked-in baggage is an add-on for the Economy Saver category, and travelers purchasing Economy Saver tickets have the option to select the baggage option for a fee. The new Economy Saver fare category is only available when booking on www.saudia.com or through the SAUDIA Mobile App. Air travel purchased at the Economy Saver rate is also not eligible for refund or changes.

In the Basic and Flex Economy fare families, the main differences are that checked-in baggage is included in the fare (with different allowance amounts); miles accrual differs across each fare family, seat selection is included (only in Flex), as well as changing and refund options.

The Business Class new fare families of Business Basic and Business Flex are differentiated by the number of checked-in baggage pieces included, as well as the amount of miles accrued and the change fees. 

SAUDIA’s new packages gives travelers the opportunity to bundle and choose the services they require. For example a passenger requiring no checked-in baggage and does not require changes to their travel itinerary, can benefit from additional savings by choosing the Economy Saver option.

With each travel purchase, SAUDIA provides options such as, WiFi internet connectivity cards, advanced purchase excess baggage, and online check-in 48 hours in advance of travel.

As a full service carrier, regardless of the new domestic fare categories, meal service (on applicable routes) and hand bag (7 Kgs for Economy Class and 9 Kgs for Business Class) still remain the same for guests, and is included in all fares. 

In line with aviation international industry standards, SAUDIA is continuing to keep the weight of check-in baggage to no more than 23 Kgs per piece for Economy Class and 32 Kgs for Business and First Class.

Each piece of luggage for Economy Class must weigh no more than 23 Kgs, and if exceeded, the maximum that the airline may accept is 32 Kgs, for which a standard overweight fee of 70 SAR will apply.  Per international regulations, the airline may not accept baggage weighing more than 32 Kgs per piece.

The new policy for baggage allotment will only effect tickets purchased from February 20 onwards. All tickets purchased prior to this date will be subject to the previous baggage allotment.