While I agree with you on the fact that a company should hire his nationals first, I have to disagree on the professional word. I’ve met very professional guys there but that accounts for maybe 20% of the workforce, in Saudi Arabia and in Saudia professional doesn’t exist unfortunately, there’s no discipline at all, almost everyone is smoking in the flight deck during flight, even during refueling, local pilots claim sick continuously if they don’t like the roster or during important holidays, during recurrent training, the one with the swimming pool involved, nobody is actually entering the pool, it’s all a joke.
Have you ever asked yourself WHY the company is hiring expat captains instead of upgrading their first officers ? Think about it and give me an answer.
If the mentality doesn’t change, if the corruption doesn’t stop, Saudia will never be in the TOP 5 Companies and if they want to attract a different variety of passengers, they should start serving alcoholic beverages on board, alcohol is sold secretly everywhere in SA anyways so what difference does it make ?