Cyprus Airways, the Cypriot flag carrier, has signed a code-sharing agreement with Saudi Arabian Airlines to better serve passenger traffic between Cyprus and Saudi Arabia. The latest statistics from the Mediterranean carrier show a healthy traffic increase on the Jeddah-Larnaca and Riyadh-Larnaca routes for the first quarter of this year, compared to the corresponding period in 2005.

Tourist arrivals from Saudi Arabia into Cyprus have increased 35% in the first three months of 2006 compared to the corresponding period last year according to the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, which has stepped up its marketing efforts in the region.

“Cyprus Airways has been serving the Cyprus-Saudi Arabian market for 30 years and has played an important role in developing commercial, economic and cultural ties between the two countries. The link up with Saudia and the network strength this collaboration brings further enhances this role,” said Antonis Vassiliades, Head of Airline Planning & International Affairs, Cyprus Airways.

Cyprus Airways has strategic agreements with other airlines including Gulf Air, Syrian Arab Airlines, Jordanian Airlines, KLM, Alitalia, Aeroflot, LOT Polish Airlines, SN Brussels, Olympic Airlines and Aerosvit.

‘Cyprus Airways is an international airline with a reputation for high service standards,’ Dr. Ayed T. Al Amri, General Manager, Bilateral & Commercial Agreements, Saudi Arabian Airlines.

‘We are confident this partnership will result in increased travelling convenience for Saudi citizens.’

Cyprus Airways flies twice-weekly from Larnaca to Riyadh via Jeddah and from Larnaca to Jeddah via Riyadh using an Airbus A319 with 12 business class and 114 economy seats and an Airbus A320 with 15 business and 143 economy configuration.

The carrier’s Thursday flight departs Jeddah at 0205 and arrives Larnaca via Jeddah at 0720. The Sunday flight departs Riyadh at 1800 on Sundays arriving in Larnaca via Jeddah at 0230.

The Cyprus Airways network covers 28 major European and Middle East destinations. Another four cities are covered through codeshare agreements with partner airlines. Nine of the network’s destinations are in the wider Middle East and Gulf area and the remaining in Europe. The most important routes are Athens, Greece with five daily flights and London Heathrow two - three flights every day. Stansted, Manchester and Birmingham are also on the airline’s UK network.
——-