Saudia Group, which owns Saudia (Saudi Arabia’s national carrier) and flyadeal, its low-cost subsidiary, has placed a large order for Airbus narrowbody aircraft today. This is being billed as the largest order in Saudi Arabia’s aviation history.

Saudia / flyadeal’s A320neo family order

Saudia Group and Airbus today announced that the Saudia Group placed an order for 105 Airbus A320neo family aircraft. The order is broken into 54 Airbus A321neos for Saudia, 39 Airbus 321neos and 12 Airbus A320neos for flyadeal. The agreement was announced at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh. This is a firm order, although the delivery timeline is unknown.

Saudia is already a narrowbody customer of Airbus, and the following aircraft have already ordered/been delivered to the group:

• Saudia: 20 Airbus A321neos on order; six delivered
• Saudia: 15 Airbus A321XLRs on order
• flyadeal: 31 Airbus A320neos on order; 21 delivered

Not only is Saudi Arabia now aggressive about growing its share of the aviation business and taking it more seriously than pre-COVID, but aviation is also a big part of the Vision 2030 plan of Saudi Arabia. Saudia already has a fleet of 37 Airbus A320s and 15 Airbus A321s aircraft, and these aircraft might be a replacement for the existing ones, especially if they are going to arrive in 2029 or later (which is when Airbus has delivery slots available for the A320neo family).

There was anticipation of an order with Airbus even at the Dubai Airshow 2023, but it took a while, and it seems to figure out the contours of the order.

Here is what Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of Saudia, said on the occasion of the order:

Saudia has ambitious operational objectives to meet growing demand. We are increasing flights and seat capacity across our existing 100+ destinations on four continents, with plans for further expansion. The progress of Saudi Vision 2030 is attracting more visits, tourists, entrepreneurs, and pilgrims each year. This motivated our decision to secure this significant deal, which will create jobs, increase local content, and contribute to the national economy.

Saudia uses its A321neos for regional routes and has a very comfortable business-class cabin installed on board for the emission. The older A320s have flat beds in business class and are intended for longer routes beyond the Middle East.

The Saudia A321neo Business Class cabin. Classy and understated. pic.twitter.com/8d5byBgWOB

— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) October 13, 2023

Bottomline

Saudia Group has placed a large order for the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft for Saudia and flyadeal. Most of the aircraft included in the order are A321neos, with a few A320neos added for good measure.

What do you think of Saudia’s latest Airbus order?

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