Al Maha Airways
| |||||||
| Founded | 2014 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 2017 | ||||||
| Hubs | Hamad International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 4 | ||||||
| Destinations | 11 (planned) | ||||||
| Parent company | Qatar Airways | ||||||
| Headquarters | Doha, Qatar | ||||||
Al Maha Airways was a planned subsidiary airline of Qatar Airways to serve the Saudi Arabian travel market. It was based initially at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, and then at Hamad International Airport in Doha. The beginning of operations was postponed several times following its initial announcement in 2014, and then cancelled entirely by February 2017 following issues obtaining its operational license and the Qatar diplomatic crisis.
History
Al Maha Airways was founded as a Saudi Arabian subsidiary of Qatar Airways in 2014, but never began operations. Al Maha, which means "oryx" in Arabic, was to sport the Qatar Airways logo but would be green instead of the Qatar Airways signature burgundy colour, to match Saudi Arabia's national colors. On 29 April 2015, Al Maha Airways took delivery of four Airbus A320-200 aircraft.[1]
The airline was set to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2014,[2] but then the starting date was postponed to summer 2016.[3] In February 2017, Qatar Airways announced that the Al Maha Airways project was cancelled and the airline would not begin operations, due to ongoing issues gaining its operational license and the Qatar diplomatic crisis.[4]
Destinations
The initial destinations were planned to be Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Madina, Abha, Al Qassim, Doha, Dubai (Al Maktoum) and Muscat.
Fleet
As of November 2016 the Al Maha Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[5]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 4, repainted, without the green oryx livery | 44 — | 12 | 168 | 180 | Now in service with Qatar Airways |
| Total | 4 | — | ||||
References
- ^ "Arabian Aerospace – Al Maha Airways receives its first four A320s". Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ "Official: Qatar's Al Maha Airways to launch in Saudi by year-end – Doha News". Doha News. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ "بيروقراطية التراخيص تؤخر انطلاق طيران المها إلى صيف 2016". Al-MADINA.COM صحيفة المدينة. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ ch-aviation.com - Al Baker confirms Al Maha Airways project abandoned 8 February 2017
- ^ "Al Maha Airways Fleet Details and History".