Flyadeal weighs widebody order
Flyadeal, a Saudi low-cost airline within the Saudia stable, is evaluating whether to purchase Airbus or Boeing widebody aircraft as part of its fleet expansion.
As the airline looks to broaden its services, particularly for long-haul routes, the choice between Airbus and Boeing presents a critical decision that will shape its future operations, CEO Steven Greenway said last week.
Ultimately, Flyadeal’s decision will hinge on factors such as fleet commonality (considering Saudia’s fleet already includes Boeing aircraft), cost structures, fuel efficiency, and long-term maintenance agreements.
“Between now and whenever we do get deliveries, we will be leveraging our wet leasing opportunities,” said Greenway at Routes World 2024 earlier in October.
“It will be either the B787 or the A330,” he added, describing the A350 as “over-engineered…we don’t need something that goes 15 or 16 hours.”
For the A330, “it is faster to get A320 pilots into the seat, but the 787 has fleet commonality with Saudia”, he explained. “It does make it slightly more complex [to have more than one aircraft type] but there is a market there and we are going to chase it.”
Flyadeal has seen significant growth in recent years. Launched in 2017 as a subsidiary of Saudia, it quickly expanded its domestic and regional routes, targeting budget-conscious travellers.
Despite challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Flyadeal has rebounded with increasing passenger demand and resumed network expansion.
In 2023, the airline focused on increasing its fleet, operating Airbus A320neo aircraft to optimise fuel efficiency. Flyadeal is now eyeing longer-haul flights, which could further boost its position in the competitive Middle Eastern aviation market as Saudi Arabia aims to become a global air travel hub.
