Saudi low-cost airline National Air Services (NAS) expects to break even in 2011, and boost passenger traffic 75 per cent this year, its chief commercial officer said on Tuesday.

The airline, launched in 2007, expects to finalise the details of its private placement, planned for this year, in the next few weeks, Maria Angelika Hanne told Reuters at a tourism and travel conference in Dubai. She declined to give further details.

JP Morgan is overseeing the due diligence.

'We made losses in our first year and last year we reduced our losses by 50 per cent. I am confident we will reach it (breakeven) next year,' Hanne said.

In October, the airline's CEO said he expected NAS to break even in 2010. NAS, which will add three new routes in India this year after Mumbai last week, expects to have 2.6 million passengers this year, Hanne said.

The airline added Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, to its routes last week and will add Aleppo, in Syria, next week. 'Our penetration in Saudi Arabia is getting better and better and in the region we are stronger,' she said.

The company, which is 37-per cent owned by Kingdom Holding, currently has 14 aircraft, and will add two Embraer E190s  in 2010, two in 2011 and three Airbus A320s in 2012, she said, adding the airline has orders and options for 60 Airbus over the next 10 year.

Both NAS and its rival Sama Airlines, last year borrowed 200 million Saudi riyals from the government for losses suffered from due to operating compulsory routes under a government price cap on domestic fares.-Reuters