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Saudia also is "looking hard at Asia," said Ali, given expectations of a "big increase in the traffic between the Far East and Saudi Arabia, especially the Philippines and Indonesia" which are both Muslim countries. Saudia has had a codesharing agreement with Garuda Indonesia since 1992, and Ali said projected traffic increases between the two countries may make it necessary to expand the agreement. Currently, the codeshare applies only to flights between Jakarta and Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran.
The carrier's other partnerships include limited agreements with Gulf Air, KLM, Korean Air, Olympic Airways and Philippine Airlines. However, when Saudia becomes privatized, it likely will be snatched up by a major alliance block since the carrier is the largest in the Middle East. Last year, it ranked between Alaska Airlines {ALK} and Cathay Pacific in...