Mr. Abdul Aziz Al-Hazmi, CEO of Saudi Airlines Company, senior executives of the organization and a large number of prominent personalities including foreign diplomats, media personnel and travel and tourism executives also attended the inauguration ceremony.

In a statement on the occasion, Mr. Al-Hazmi said, “the new SAUDIA office which is located in Zuellig Building in Makati Avenue of Manila is designed by Saudi engineers following the latest architectural designs and standards.” He also added that, “the new office is surrounded by embassies, airlines’ offices and corporate headquarters.”

The new Manila office is built to reflect the airlines’ new visual identity. “Our new strategy is to keep all departments including sales, marketing, reservation and finance under one roof for the benefit of passengers and visitors, and the office will have 15 staff members.” Al-Hazmi pointed out.

SAUDIA is considered one of the first Middle Eastern airlines that provides direct flights between Manila and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As a fact, the national carrier started operating flights in 1982 with two weekly flights, which has now grown into 11 per week.

SAUDIA has been using B747-400 for operating its Manila flights. From January 2015, the company intends to operate B777-300 in the sector.

The number of passengers carried by the airlines between the two countries has risen from 43,388 in 1982 to 403,254 in 2013. During the past nine months of 2014, SAUDIA transported 341,532.