“Some more pics from a dream holiday,” writes Carrie Johnson, current wife of the former prime minister. She posted this week from the beach in Saudi Arabia on Instagram: “I forgot to mention how incredible the water sports are too – particularly the diving and the snorkelling.”
Let us leave Ms Johnson and her family beside the warm waters of the Red Sea and switch to Wizz Air – which is pushing the boundaries of no-frills flying. The Hungarian budget airline finds itself competing in an increasingly crowded European aviation market in which it occupies an uncomfortable third place behind Ryanair and easyJet.
The sensible response: create some new routes. Equipped with brand-new long-range Airbus A321XLR aircraft, Wizz will connect Sussex with Saudi Arabia from this summer on two links.
One of the new routes from London Gatwick airport is Jeddah, the main city on the Red Sea. National carrier Saudia already flies from London Heathrow three times a day, with plans to launch from Gatwick, while British Airways flies to Jeddah and back daily.
Both of the incumbents use wide-bodied aircraft with long-haul amenities, while Wizz Air will be strictly economy. The typical one-way Gatwick-Jeddah fare on the budget airline in spring and summer is £135, which for almost 3,000 miles of flying is remarkable.
More interesting, though, is the route announced on Tuesday: Gatwick to Medina, the second-holiest city in Islam after nearby Mecca. On the day it starts, 1 August, the temperature in the inland city is likely to be 45C. This is a route that initially is aimed at helping Saudi travellers escape to the relatively benign climes of the UK.
Later in the year, though, Wizz Air visualises British tourists fleeing winter for the bright skies of Arabia. What with a 2.20am arrival in Medina and a 3.15am departure, the airline may have to drop its standard outbound price of £234 to fill the planes in November. Doubtless some will be attracted by the city itself – opened up fully to non-Muslims four years ago – and the nearby cultural jewel of Saudi Arabia, Al Ula. This is an oasis city that grew up astride trade routes and gives access to monuments hewn from sandstone cliffs.
But many will be deterred by the kingdom’s human-rights record – which includes the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi,…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Independent Travel…