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Tuesday, 7 May 2024
Read full issueAVIATION
Budget airline Flyadeal, a unit of Saudia, aims to more than triple its fleet to 100 aircraft within the next five years, as it looks to expand its route network to 100 within four years, CEO Steven Greenway tells The National. The airline hopes to hit a target of carrying 10 mn passengers by the end of 2024.
Eyeing a larger Airbus fleet: The operator — whose entire fleet is comprised of Airbuses — is mulling ordering more single-aisle Airbus jets and upgrading a separate existing order for 50 A320neo and A321neo aircraft, Greenway said. The potential upgrade would help the airline increase maximum take-off weight, and secure jets with high performing engines along with a certification that allows for longer flights over water.
The price tag: The exact value of the order “will depend on the modifications” Flyadeal decides to make, Greenway said.
Delivery schedule: The airline is set to receive six aircraft this year, with its 33rd A320neo expected to arrive in a couple of weeks, Greenway said. One-third of the airline's order book consists of A321 Neos, with delivery scheduled to start in 2026, while the remaining orders are for the smaller A320 Neos model, he added.
New routes in 2H 2024, with more focus on international network: The low-cost carrier is slated to launch new routes to southern Europe, India, and the GCC in 2H 2024, with flights between Riyadh and Dubai’s second hub, Al Maktoum International Airport, slated to start on 20 June. Flyadeal wants to reach an even split between its domestic and overseas flights, which are currently at an 80-20 split in favor of domestic routes. “The real focus of the aircraft deliveries over the next couple of years will be our international network.”
In context: Flyadeal currently operates flights to 18 domestic destinations and five international destinations year-round, including Amman, Cairo, Istanbul, and Dubai. This is in addition to seven seasonal summer destinations: Antalya, Baku, Bodrum, Sarajevo, Sharm El Sheikh, Tbilisi, and Trabzon.
REMEMBER- Flyadeal’s ownership could be transferred to the Public Investment Fund (PIF) if the fund goes through with unconfirmed plans to acquire state-owned Saudia as soon as next year. This would add to the aviation asset portfolio of the wealth fund which launched Riyadh Air in March last year.
IN OTHER AVIATION NEWS-
#1- Riyadh Air is looking to make follow-up aircraft orders to meet its fleet needs, ahead of the airline’s planned 2025 debut, Bloomberg reports. “We need a very large fleet, we’re going to make a number of additional orders,” CEO Tony Douglas told the business information service. The move would add to the airline’s order for up to 72 Boeing Dreamliners in March, Bloomberg says.
#2- Low-cost airline Flynas is adding Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and the soon-to-be expanded Al Maktoum International Airport to its network as of September, from its bases in Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, and Al Madinah, Khaleej Times reports. The expansion will take the number of routes between the countries to nine, up from four currently. Flynas said in April that it could be looking at a Tadawul IPO this year
#3- A unified GCC visa could be in place by the end of the year, Khaleej Times quoted Chairman of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Authority (SCTDA) Khalid Jasim Al Midfa as saying at the event.