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]

Sama
IATA ICAO Call sign
ZS SMY NAJIM
Founded2007
Ceased operations24 August 2010
Operating bases
Fleet size6
Destinations10 (upon closure)
Parent companyInvestment Enterprises Ltd
HeadquartersDammam, Saudi Arabia
Key peopleBandar bin Khalid Al Faisal (Chairman)
Bruce Ashby (CEO)
Websitewww.flysama.com

History

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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

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Sama Airlines served the following destinations (as of February 2010):[5]

Terminated destinations

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Fleet

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During its time of operation the airline operated the following aircraft:[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Customer Support." Sama. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  2. ^ "terms and conditions." Sama. Retrieved 22 August 2010
  3. ^ Wael Mahdi. (22 August 2010). "Saudi Low-Cost Airline Sama to Cease Operations After $266 Million Loss." Bloomberg. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  4. ^ Official announcement of flights being discontinued
  5. ^ Sama Airlines destinations schedules Archived July 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Sama Airlines fleet details and history". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
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