For 5th Time, Flynas Wins Skytrax Award as Middle East's Best Low-Cost Airline

A flynas Airbus A320 aircraft on the tarmac at Cairo International Airport. (AFP)
A flynas Airbus A320 aircraft on the tarmac at Cairo International Airport. (AFP)
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For 5th Time, Flynas Wins Skytrax Award as Middle East's Best Low-Cost Airline

A flynas Airbus A320 aircraft on the tarmac at Cairo International Airport. (AFP)
A flynas Airbus A320 aircraft on the tarmac at Cairo International Airport. (AFP)

Flynas, the Saudi air carrier and the leading low-cost airline in the Middle East, won the Skytrax Award as the Best Low-Cost Airline in the Middle East for the fifth consecutive year at a forum held in London on Friday, reported the Saudi Press Agency.

The Skytrax Award, launched in 1999, is the highest award in the aviation industry and the most important global standard for excellence among airlines worldwide.

Bander Almohanna, CEO of Flynas, said: “The crowning of Flynas for the fifth year in a row as the Best Low-Cost Airline in the Middle East with the Skytrax Award in the most important global forum for the aviation industry confirms our leadership as a national air carrier that raises the name of the Kingdom high on its National Day, and achieves the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and the Strategy for the Civil Aviation Sector in Saudi Arabia.”

He stressed that this win reflects Flynas’ commitment to operational excellence and meeting the aspirations of its traveling guests. It is also in line with achieving its growth and expansion strategy under the title “We Connect the World to the Kingdom,” which included launching more than 16 new destinations in 2022, bringing the number of Flynas destinations to more than 70 domestic and international destinations.

“Flynas fleet continues to grow, as it reached 38 aircraft in the first half of 2022 and will increase to 52 aircraft by the end of 2023,” said Almohanna.

“In addition, the Flynas Board of Directors approved to increase the purchase order for new aircraft to 250 aircraft, in an effort to participate effectively in achieving the Strategy for the Civil Aviation Sector in Saudi Arabia, which aims to reach 300 million passengers and connect the Kingdom with 250 international destinations by 2030,” he added.

The Skytrax Awards are awarded after a multi-month evaluation that includes more than 100 countries; by conducting the largest survey of its kind to measure passengers’ satisfaction in the world annually.

By winning the award for this year, Flynas now has five awards from Skytrax as the Best Low-Cost Airline in the Middle East in the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022.

Flynas has achieved the highest rating in the Official Airline Rating conducted by the non-profit organization APEX, which is one of the most significant associations of airlines worldwide.

In the assessment that included 600 companies globally, Flynas was ranked in the 4-star low-cost carrier category, the highest category of low-cost airlines.

Moreover, Flynas has been ranked as the Leading Low-Cost Airline in the Middle East by the World Travel Awards for seven consecutive years.



Indian State Refiners May Buy Mideast Spot Oil to Replace Russian Shortfall

A worker rides a bicycle at the Bharat Petroleum Corporation refinery in Mumbai, April 24, 2008. REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe/FILE PHOTO
A worker rides a bicycle at the Bharat Petroleum Corporation refinery in Mumbai, April 24, 2008. REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe/FILE PHOTO
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Indian State Refiners May Buy Mideast Spot Oil to Replace Russian Shortfall

A worker rides a bicycle at the Bharat Petroleum Corporation refinery in Mumbai, April 24, 2008. REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe/FILE PHOTO
A worker rides a bicycle at the Bharat Petroleum Corporation refinery in Mumbai, April 24, 2008. REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe/FILE PHOTO

Indian state refiners are considering tapping the Middle East crude market as spot supply from their top supplier Russia have fallen, three refining sources said, in a move that could support prices for high-sulphur oil.
The three large state refiners- Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum- are short of 8-10 million barrels of Russian oil for January loading, the sources told Reuters.
The refiners fear continued problems in securing Russian oil in the spot market could continue in coming months as Moscow's own demand is rising and it has to meet commitments under the OPEC pact.
However, they added that they can draw from their inventories to meet crude processing needs in March.
Two of the sources said their company may lift more crude from Middle East suppliers under optional volumes in term contracts or to float a spot tender for high-sulphur oil.

IOC, the country's top refiner, previously floated spot tenders to buy sour grades in March 2022.
The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
India became the largest importer of Russian crude after the European Union, previously the top buyer, imposed sanctions on Russian oil imports in response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russian oil accounts for more than a third of India's energy imports.
Russia's spot crude exports since November as its refineries resumed operations after the maintenance season and poor weather disrupted shipping activities, traders said.
“We have to explore alternative grades as Russia's own demand is rising and it has to meet its commitments under OPEC,” said another of the three sources.
Russia, an ally of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, promised to make extra cuts to its oil output from the end of 2024 to compensate for overproduction earlier.
Also, most supplies from Russia's state oil firm Rosneft are tied up in a deal with Indian private refiner Reliance Industries, Reuters reported earlier this month.
The new deal accounts for roughly half of Rosneft's seaborne oil exports from Russian ports, leaving little supply available for spot sales, sources told Reuters earlier this month.
India has no sanctions on Russian oil, so refiners there have cashed in on supplies made cheaper than rival grades by the penalties by at least $3 to $4 per barrel.
Sources said there are traders in the market that are willing to supply Russian oil for payments in Chinese Yuan but noted that state refiners stopped paying for Russian oil in the Chinese currency after advice from the government last year.
“It is not that alternatives to Russian oil are not available in the market but our economics will suffer,” the first source said.
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, reversing the prior session's losses, buoyed by a slightly positive market outlook for the short term, despite thin trade ahead of the Christmas holiday.
Brent crude futures were up 42 cents, or 0.6%, to $73.05 a barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 38 cents, or 0.6%, to $69.62 a barrel at 0742 GMT, Reuters reported.
FGE analysts said they anticipated the benchmark prices would fluctuate around current levels in the short term “as activity in the paper markets decreases during the holiday season and market participants stay on the sidelines until they get a clearer view of 2024 and 2025 global oil balances.”
Supply and demand changes in December have been supportive of their current less-bearish view so far, the analysts said in a note.
“Given how short the paper market is on positioning, any supply disruption could lead to upward spikes in structure,” they added.
Some analysts also pointed to signs of greater oil demand over the next few months.
“The year is ending with the consensus from major agencies over long 2025 liquids balances starting to break down,” Neil Crosby, Sparta Commodities' assistant vice president of oil analytics, said in a note.
Also supporting prices was a plan by China, the world's biggest oil importer, to issue 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) worth of special treasury bonds next year, as Beijing ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive a faltering economy.
China's stimulus is likely to provide near-term support for WTI crude at $67 a barrel, said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong.