Do we have choice of which airline?

We are in US. During our final orientation, relocation advisor told us that preferred airlines are the ones that make stops in Europe. Additionally Aramco has corporate accounts with some airlines like KLM and Lufthansa.

Writing from my London perspective. The only two flights that made sense to Dammam were KLM via Amsterdam and Qatar Air via Doha. Arrival times were somewhat different and KLM mames more sense to us with three small kids.

So, if you want to bypass London and get direct to Amsterdam then KLM looks a logical choice as it should cut down your changes. In essence, it depends how many stops you really want to do.

The answer is yes, there is a choice. We were given 3 up front, however Houston has regular flights through Amsterdam, Dubai, or Doha so the available choices depend on the point of origination. There were more but those are all routes we are familiar with so we didn't bother to check the others.

Houston to Doha and Houston to Dubai is a brutal flight with a 1-yr old. Not for us, but for our poor persecuted fellow passengers, so we selected KLM.

The late night wait can be very draining. We were fortunate in that the Saudi official directing folks to the lines took pity on us and took us directly to an immigration booth, sparing the wait. We were very, very grateful for this bit of kindness as our first trip in 2009 put us in the back of the line and we waited approximately 2 hours to get processed in so we were mentally geared up.

Some arrival tips:

There is an ATM at the airport as well as a money changer booth. The conversion is much, much better at the Dammam airport than in the point of orgin so we only carried about 200 SAR with us purchased in Houston and hit the ATM right after arrival. Our ATM cards worked first time. Make sure your bank unlocks them for international transactions or you might be in for a rude surprise at the ATM.

1. Get in the right line off of the plane. If in doubt ask. If you are in the wrong line they will sometimes put you in the back of the correct line. It's not fun at all when that happens.
2. Once through immigration you will go to baggage claim. Wave down a porter, they will collect your bags for you and will accompany you through customs. We had a good experience in customs, they went through Xray and he backed a couple of them back and forth but we didn't put anything in our bags that would raise any interest so we passed right through
3. Have your porter bring your bags all the way to the Aramco office. When you exit baggage there is the area where all of the family members etc meet the passengers, and your driver will be in that area. He will be holding a sign with your name on it. He will take over the bags for the porter after you are process through the Aramco office at the airport.
4. Sometimes the Aramco agent is not there when you arrive. He IS around though. In our case he was upstairs collecting an unaccompanied female arrival so if you wait a bit he will be down to process you. His mobile is on the door. The driver can call that mobile and let him know you are there if the wait seems like a long time.
5. The driver will either have or collect your keys on the way into your community. He will drop you at your door to your house.

Luck!