Flyadeal, one of the youngest and fastest growing low-cost airlines in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, has announced a landmark order for 51 narrowbody Airbus aircraft to fuel the next phase of its expansion plans.
The historic agreement for 12 Airbus A320neos and 39 bigger capacity A321neos was signed as part of a wider announcement by parent Saudia Group for a record 105 aircraft order – the largest in Saudi aviation history. The announcement was made on the opening day of the Future Aviation Forum being held in Riyadh this week.
Saleh Al-Jasser, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport and Logistic Services and Chairman of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation, presided over the official signing by Eng Ibrahim Al-Omar, Saudia Group Director General, and Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Airbus Executive Vice-President Sales.
Flyadeal’s new fleet will support growth targets that will see a tripling in size from the current 32 all-Airbus A320neo and ceo variants to more than 100 aircraft by 2030, with its network reach rising sharply from 30 domestic and international destinations to over 100 within six years.
Steven Greenway, flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, said: “Today’s historic announcement is a clear statement of intent of flyadeal’s goals as we prepare for the next phase of dynamic growth beyond 2026 when we begin taking deliveries of the new aircraft.
“Flyadeal has exciting plans with the new fleet, especially the A321neos which will give us the flexibility on high-demand routes and to slot-constrained airports by offering up to 240 seats that represent 30 per cent more capacity than our current 186-seat A320s. And of course these new generation, environmentally friendly aircraft will provide optimum fuel efficiency, very much in line with the Kingdom’s sustainability drive and Saudi Vision 2030 to build a dynamic aviation industry.”
Flyadeal’s current fleet comprises 21 A320neo and 11 A320ceo variants operating from three hubs in the Kingdom – Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. The airline is inducting on average one aircraft every month into the fleet from an existing order until the end of 2025.
