Saudia’s Director General Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser receives the award from Adel bin Awad Al-Johani, director general of internal audit at the airline.

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) will introduce the new “Book and Buy” system on domestic flights from Jan. 1 while increasing the validity of tickets from six months to 12 months.

“The move comes as part efforts to make optimum use of the airline’s seat capacity and meet actual demand of passengers,” a Saudia official said.

The system demands from passengers to purchase tickets at the time of making reservations, thus canceling the facility of providing certain grace period to purchase tickets after booking.

“This will reduce negative practices such as booking seats without any need for travel and canceling them in the last moment, thus preventing actual passengers from using the available seats,” the official said.

It will also put an end to the phenomenon of unauthorized agents, who offer reservation services through the Internet and social media holding seats and selling them to passengers for fabulous prices, sometimes reaching double the price of a ticket.

“The new system is already applied in the airline industry and a number of airline companies have implemented it to reduce the number of vacant seats,” the official said.

“In order to give passengers greater flexibility, the validity of domestic flight tickets has been extended from six months to a year and this facility will be available for bookings made from Jan. 1,” the official explained.

Meanwhile, Saudia received the Internal Audit Excellence Award in the Middle East during a grand ceremony in Dubai attended by accountancy and finance professionals in the region.

Adel bin Awad Al-Johani, director general of internal audit at Saudia, received the award during the ceremony, which was officiated by UAE Minister of Culture, Sports and Community Development Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan.

In a statement on the occasion, Saudia’s Director General Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser said the airline received the award as a result of the hard work of its employees.

“It also reflects the excellent capabilities of Saudia staff,” he added.

Saudia’s internal audit department was nominated for the award by a consultancy firm. Individuals and companies who fulfill certain conditions and qualifications, including their ability to manage risk and strengthen the organization’s economic capabilities are considered for the award.

[wpResize]