Saudi Arabia’s flynas places order for 75 A320neo, 15 A330neo

Saudi Arabia’s flynas has signed an agreement with Airbus to acquire 75 narrow-body A320neo family aircraft and 15 wide-body A330-900 jets, the companies said on Thursday, underscoring the budget carrier’s commitment to advancing its growth and expansion strategy.

The A320neo deal is worth about $4bn, and the A330 deal is about $1.7bn, according to estimated delivery prices from Cirium Ascend. Earlier in July, Reuters reported that flynas was negotiating an A330 deal ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow.

The expansion of flynas’ fleet is expected to boost the airline’s capacity and range while enhancing its overall fleet capabilities. The all-Airbus fleet operator also signed options for another 55 A320neos and 15 A330neos, flynas said in a separate statement.

The deal doubles the airline’s total orders to 280 aircraft as it seeks to increase its fleet size to more than 160 aircraft by 2030 from the current operation of 61 aircraft.

“The agreement to purchase 160 Airbus aircraft reinforces our determination to establish flynas as a leading global low-cost carrier,” said Bander Almohanna, the CEO and managing director of flynas.

“By doubling our order volume to 280 Airbus aircraft, we ensure sustainable growth across our network of regional and international routes, spanning short, medium, and long-haul flights. Notably, this is our first order for the wide-body A330neo with Airbus, with deliveries starting in 2027.”

The addition of the A330-900 aircraft will support flynas’ ambitious growth plans. The aircraft can fly 8,150 nm/ 15,094 km nonstop and will boast a two-class configuration, accommodating up to 400 passengers.

Meanwhile, flynas is moving forward with its expansion plans in its network of destinations, which requires upscaling its aircraft fleet.

The low-cost airline carried 11 million passengers in 2023, growing more than 28 per cent compared to the previous year as it continues to expand to new markets. Founded in 2007, flynas has carried more than 78 million passengers and plans to expand its reach to 165 destinations – domestically and internationally.

The budget carrier connects over 70 domestic and international destinations through a network of more than 1,500 weekly flights.

Read: flynas boosts UAE network, with flights to 3 more destinations