Saudi’s flyadeal takes possession of 30th aircraft

Saudi low-cost carrier flyadeal has taken delivery of its 30th aircraft – an Airbus A320 neo – in Toulouse.

The ‘keys’ to flyadeal’s latest acquisition named Al Taj (The Crown), were handed over at the European aircraft manufacturer’s delivery centre in southern France.

The aircraft, with a registration number of HZ-FBD, then departed with the flyadeal delegation on-board for the five-hour inaugural delivery flight to Jeddah.

flyadeal has a young fleet

The 186-seat aircraft offered in a 3-3 all-economy class configuration is the latest of a 30 A320 neo aircraft order placed by parent Saudia Group in 2019 earmarked for flyadeal operations.

Flyadeal’s current fleet is made up of the A320 family aircraft with an average age of just over two years old, with 19 A320 neos already delivered from that 2019 order.

Sanjiv Kapoor, flyadeal acting chief executive officer, said, “Flyadeal is celebrating yet another significant milestone with our fleet reaching 30 aircraft, representing a great achievement made so quickly since our historic first flight on Saudi National Day almost six years ago.

“As we continue our exciting journey towards growing our fleet and route network in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 to expand the country’s aviation industry, the A320 neo enables us to open up new travel markets beyond the Middle East, Europe and Africa which we currently serve. The aircraft achieve operational efficiencies, helping to keep our cost base low and to continue providing the travelling public with the promise of competitively low fares.”

Flyadeal operates 59 routes to a network of 35 domestic, international, and seasonal destinations. It celebrates its sixth anniversary of operations later this month, and has reportedly flown over 20 million passengers since its launch in September 2017.

Read: Online travel marketplace Wego joins forces with flyadeal to enable direct flight bookings

This article originally appeared on Business Traveller Middle East.