November 12, 2006	Sunday	Shawwal 19, 1427

RIYADH, Nov 11: Saudi Arabian Airlines, pressed by a rapid rise in demand, needs more immediate leases of aircraft than purchases, its chief was quoted on Saturday as saying.

One of the problems we face is that any purchase contract for new aircraft will not be delivered before four to five years, Director General Khaled al-Mulhim told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

So the question is: can we afford to wait or should we look for other solutions? As an immediate solution, we seek to lease aircraft to fill the existing gaps, and we expect to lease more aircraft in the next stage, he added.

He said passenger figures were expected to rise by up to 15per cent a year and the number of Muslim pilgrims visiting the country could rise to 20 million in 10 years from 3.5 million.—Reuters