Saudi Arabia scraps luxury A319 operator Kayala
Middle Eastern luxury carrier Kayala Airline is to suspend operations in April, citing uneconomical trading conditions.
The carrier is operated through Saudi Arabia's National Air Services and conducts flights with Airbus A319s configured with low-density 44-seat interiors.
Kayala operates on a limited number of routes, connecting Riyadh, Jeddah and Dubai.
But National Air Services chief Sulaiman Abdullah Al-Hamdan says that, having carried out a study on Kayala's financial return, the company has decided the carrier is "no longer feasible".
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Al-Hamdan says the parent company is having to incur an "unbearable huge cost" to support the airline at a time when demand is falling and the economic outlook is poor.
He says he expects customers to "understand the management decision and the rationale behind it".
Al-Hamdan adds, however, that National Air Services is not giving up on the business model and is studying options for a possible future project.
