Pilgrimage to Mecca just got easier for Muslims living on US West Coast

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

(eTN) – The pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is undoubtedly one of the most significant journeys Muslims have to make.

(eTN) – The pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is undoubtedly one of the most significant journeys Muslims have to make. For the 1 million Muslims living on the US West Coast and the estimated 100,000 Saudi Arabian nationals studying in the United States traveling to Mecca and to Saudi Arabia in general, it is somewhat daunting because it often entails traveling with different airlines and going through several stopovers.

Citing a recent survey, the LA Times stated that the US now ranks fourth in the number of Saudi students studying in foreign universities, after China, India, and South Korea. Experts, according to the LA newspaper, attribute the influx of Saudi students studying in the US by a new Saudi Arabian scholarship program that encourages students to study abroad. The number of Saudi students at Irvine has almost tripled since 2010, going from 8 to 23 this year, the LA Times claimed. โ€œBy comparison, there were 172 Saudi Arabians last fall at USC, almost 5 times more than in 2007.โ€

The growth in Saudi Arabian students studying in US universities bodes well with Saudi Arabian Airlines’ (Saudia) recently inaugurated direct flight from Los Angelesโ€™ Tom Bradley International Airport (LAX) to Riyadh and non-stop service to Jeddahโ€™s King Abdulaziz International Airport.

This is good news not only to Saudi students in US colleges and to the estimated 1 million Muslims living on the US West Coast, because, simply put, their annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, just got a whole lot easier. ETN spoke to Fahd Anwar, a freshman student at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) who is from Saudi Arabia, about the new Saudia flights, and he has nothing but praises for Saudia’s LA flights. โ€œI think itโ€™s pretty useful and good, because before I heard of this flight, what I had to do was go on different airlines. The last time I came [from Saudi Arabia] was through Turkish Airlines, and I had to stop in Istanbul. Having a direct flight is a lot more useful than doing stuff like that.โ€

On the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Anwar, who is a member of UCLAโ€™s Muslim Students Association, said: โ€œYes, this is another thing, because Jeddah is pretty much the gateway to Mecca, which actually does not have an airport, so every international flight will pretty much land in Jeddah, and there are huge terminals made specifically for pilgrims coming to Mecca. [Pilgrims from] Los Angeles are now also gonna be part of those landing in Jeddah.”

Saudia, the flag carrier for Saudi Arabia, is a non-alcohol serving flight, even for its First Class service. Asked what his thoughts on this were, the UCLA freshman student said: โ€œI have been in Saudi Arabia for the last 10 years, so for me that is normal.โ€ Saudiaโ€™s stance is in line with the customs and traditions of Saudi Arabia. Itโ€™s the law of the land which those granted the opportunity to visit are expected to respect.

In addition, what makes Anwarโ€™s perspective on Saudiaโ€™s new service even more significant is the fact that he is actually not even a Saudi national. He said: โ€œMany people only know about Saudi Arabia [based] on what is on TV, and [the new Saudia flights] is a step forward to bringing the two nations closer. I lived in Saudi Arabia for 12 years, [so I know] that [the] Saudi Arabian [government] has a [law requiring] that 30 percent of all employees in companies have to be Saudi nationals. Having said this, still, as an American wanting to work in Saudi Arabia, you still have a pretty good jump-start these days and most likely will be better off than here [in the US] in terms of taxes and savings.โ€

For its maiden voyage from Saudi Arabia to Los Angeles on March 31, 2014, Saudia used its new Boeing 777-300ER with 24 seats in the First Class, 36 in Business Class, and 245 in Guest Class. Saudia made aviation history as the only commercial airline that operates direct flights from Saudi Arabia to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Saudia will operate flights between Saudi Arabia and Los Angeles on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The flight will originate from the capital city of Riyadh, stopping over in Jeddah before flying non-stop to Los Angeles.

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Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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