ROME (ITALPRESS/MNA) – “The data is more than comforting: in 2022 there was an increase of 20% on the Saudi Arabia route, the one we care about most, an increase of 15% last year and also for this year it is predicting that there will be a double-digit increase”. Fabio Zinanni, Sales & Marketing Manager of Saudi Arabian Airlines for Italy, made this announcement during an interview with Claudio Brachino for the television magazine Italpress Economy.
“From Italy we fly from Rome and Milan to Jeddah and Riyadh. Compared to previous years, we have 8 flights a week to Jeddah, we operate with large aircraft carrying 300 people on board with daily flights from Italy to Saudi Arabia.” “Since 2019”, he explained, “except for the pandemic period, Saudi Arabia has opened up to tourism. This is an absolute novelty because it is one of those countries that had not yet been discovered on a tourism level”.
Zinanni underlined the importance of sustainability for the company. “We are planning a 20% reduction in CO2 between now and 2030, even zero in 2050. We do this thanks to the assistance from our partners, thanks to the efficient airports and bio-fuel. We try hard and want to become absolutely sustainable. We are waiting for the arrival of 30 Airbuses which are the latest model in terms of technology, but not only that!”
He spoke about the comfort experience, and explained, “the Airbuses we currently use in Rome have 20 business seats and 90 economy seats. On board we offer a choice of 3 meals in both economy and business; in business we have the chef on board and everything is extremely comfortable. We will not use certain types of aircraft because we are introducing new features, obviously it takes time but we are working on this too.”
Zinanni also spoke about the routes. “This year we opened the route to Beijing, in addition to the others already in place such as Thailand where we are doing very well, Singapore, Jakarta, all of South East Asia, Africa”.
Finally, Zinanni spoke about the cultural change underway in Saudi Arabia. “I was there for the first time in 2010, from then to now it has grown exponentially from a rights point of view, it’s not all rosy but they are absolutely making giant strides,” while adding, “I invite anyone to go to Saudi Arabia and see how women are doing today. It’s not true that they don’t drive. Women are in Parliament, they are in charge of very important companies, we too now have many women and it was unthinkable until a few years ago. Let’s dispel this myth, Saudi Arabia is a safe, beautiful country to visit,” concluded Zinanni.
– Foto Italpress –
(ITALPRESS).
