Saudia Seeks Greater Role In SkyTeam, Joins SkyTeam Cargo

Saudia CEO Jaan Albrecht discusses the airline’s plans for better leveraging its membership in SkyTeam. Saudia joined SkyTeam in May-2012 but in the first six years was a relatively inactive member. Under Mr Albrecht’s leadership, Saudia is now pursuing a more active role and working on forging codeshares with more SkyTeam members. A new terminal at Jeddah significantly improves Saudia’s ability to connect with partners and Jeddah’s position as a SkyTeam hub. Saudia is also now in the process of joining the SkyTeam Cargo alliance, which it expects to formally enter in early 2019. Mr Albrecht is a major promoter of alliances given his background, serving as CEO of the Star Alliance for over 10 years. Mr Albrecht was also CEO of Aeromexico Cargo when it became one of the founding members of SkyTeam Cargo in 2000.