Shoura opposes Saudia move to impose fines

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“If Saudia wants to impose fines on no-show passengers, I would say that passengers who follow the rules should get some compensation when their flights are delayed or canceled,” Al-Watan Arabic daily quoted a Shoura member as saying.

The paper said another Shoura member opposed the airline’s plan to increase fare for first class passengers. “If the airline is making losses, the solution is not increasing fare but managing expenditures,” the member said adding that passengers should get additional services for increase in fare. The Shoura members also demanded that the consultative body should be represented in Saudia panels that review fares and make policies such as imposing fines on no-show passengers.

Khaled Al-Mulhim, director general of Saudi Arabian Airlines recently stated that the national carrier incurred a huge loss of SR1.798 billion last year as a result of no-show passengers, who make reservations but change their travel plans without informing the airline.

“Statistics show that more than 3.6 million passengers stayed back even after reconfirmation of their bookings last year,” he said.

Al-Mulhim said the huge losses were caused due to the noncooperation of such passengers.

“Other airlines are not suffering such losses because they impose fines on passengers who do not show up after reconfirming seats,” he pointed out. “Saudia has now planned to adopt the same measure,” he added.

The airline has partially introduced fines on no-show passengers travelling on Jeddah-Riyadh route from Feb. 1. A passenger failing to show up after reconfirmation of his seat would lose 25 percent of the ticket’s value.

Saleh bin Humaid, president of the Shoura Council, said the Shoura should play a greater role in monitoring the activities of different government departments.

 

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