Originally Posted by
ba77w
When I initially joined Saudi Airlines, I was based in Jeddah and later requested to transfer to the RUH base. The airline did not force me to make this decision, as I am originally from Riyadh. It is important to note that not all local pilots at Saudi Airlines are from Jeddah; a significant number of pilots are from Riyadh and the eastern provinces as well. For those from the eastern province, it is natural that they would prefer to be based in Riyadh due to its proximity to their homes.
While it is true that not every local employee at Saudia would be willing to relocate to Riyadh, there are certainly many who would be interested in joining Riyadh Air, both captains and first officers. Additionally, experienced local captains may opt for early retirement to receive a significant portion of their pension and a double salary with RIA.
It is a misconception to believe that Riyadh Air was established because local employees at Saudi Airlines were unwilling to move to Riyadh. If the government wished to relocate Saudia to Riyadh, it could have done so without regard to employee preferences, as seen with the Saudi aviation authority (GACA). Riyadh Air was created to transition from multiple base operations to a single base operation. The cost of moving a 79-year-old airline from Jeddah to Riyadh would be significantly greater than launching a new airline.
It is common in Saudi Arabia for individuals to move from their hometowns in pursuit of employment opportunities, as seen in various sectors such as government, military, Aramco, Sabic, and more. I’ve said it before and I will say it angain expats will be needed at Riyadh Air, the proportion of expat in the airline will not be as high as in airlines like Emirates or Qatar Airways.
Fly safe.
Best regards,
You clearly know pretty well what you're talking about, so I guess that you're an employee of Saudia, as you say. But your post isn't entirely accurate. The Saudi government wanted originally to set up a large Saudia base in Riyadh and Saudia Pilots were positively encouraged to take the Riyadh base. It was totally without success. Even Saudi guys whose family came originally from Riyadh/Eastern provinces refused to move from the Jeddah base. It was like a well orchestrated Union move to stop a Riyadh base from happening.
In the end Riyadh has a very small Saudia base made up of some Saudi's and the expats who were all moved to Riyadh by force.
In my opinion. It's going to be tough to get the required numbers of expats to come to Riyadh for Riyadh Air. I know that they can get "Pilots". That's not what they want, they want highly experienced B777/B787 Captains, who come from well recognised high quality Airlines, generally flag carriers.