Sama LelTayaran Company Limited, operating as Sama, was a Saudi low-cost airline based at King Fahad International Airport in Dammam, operating scheduled flights within Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. The airline's registered address was in Riyadh.[1][2]
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| Founded | 2007 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 24 August 2010 | ||||||
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Fleet size | 6 | ||||||
| Destinations | 10 (upon closure) | ||||||
| Parent company | Investment Enterprises Ltd | ||||||
| Headquarters | Dammam, Saudi Arabia | ||||||
| Key people | Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal (Chairman) Bruce Ashby (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
History
Sama was founded in March 2007 by Investment Enterprises Ltd, chaired by Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal. Initial investment was received from 30 major Saudi private and institutional investors including Olayan Financial Co, Xenel Industries Ltd, Saudi Industrial Services Co, Sara Development Company Ltd and Modern Investment Company for Trade and Industries. The airline initially focused on domestic flights, then added international destinations during 2008. Another major restructuring occurred during 2009, when the airline's timetables were optimized towards high aircraft utilization in an attempt to improve the financial results of the company (which also saw unprofitable routes being dropped, and frequencies for successful destinations being increased).
On 24 August 2010, the airline was forced to shut down because of budgetary constraints arising out of poor funding, which had resulted in a 266 million U.S. dollar loss.[3][4]
Destinations
Sama Airlines served the following destinations (as of February 2010):[5]
Terminated destinations
- Egypt - Sharm el Sheikh
- India - Mumbai
- Saudi Arabia - Abha, Bisha, Gassim, Gurayat, Ha'il, Jizan, Madinah, Rafha, Tabuk, Ta'if
- Syria - Latakia
- United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi
Fleet
During its time of operation the airline operated the following aircraft:[6]
