Saudia challenges Emirates on the route from Medina to Dubai; adds second route to Guangzhou in China

Saudia expanded its network last week with two services, one short-haul and one long-haul. On 1 November, the airline, which has recently returned to its historic name, commenced services on the 1,600-kilometre route from Medina (MED) to Dubai (DXB), where its thrice-weekly, A320-operated service faces competition from the 11 weekly frequencies offered by Emirates. On 3 November, Saudia grew its presence in Mainland China, where it previously served Guangzhou (CAN) with thrice-weekly flights from Riyadh. Now, the carrier added second route to the Pearl River Delta city from Jeddah (JED), which it offers weekly with 777-200 aircraft.