Saudi Arabia’s flynas, the leading low-cost airline in the world and the best LCC in the Middle East, has signed a landmark agreement with Airbus of 160 new aircraft. This order, comprising 30 wide-body A330neo aircraft and 130 narrow body A320 family aircraft doubles flynas’s total orders to 280 aircraft.
The move aligns with Saudi Vision 2030, aimed at transforming the aviation sector and supporting flynas’s ambitious expansion under the slogan “We connect the world to the Kingdom.” This deal cements flynas’ status as one of the top four low-cost airlines worldwide.
The agreement was signed at last week’s Farnborough Airshow in London, attended by His Excellency Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, and Ayed Aljeaid, Chairman of flynas. The signing ceremony featured Bander Almohanna, CEO and Managing Director of flynas, and Christian Scherer, Chief Executive Officer of the Commercial Aircraft and Paul Meijers Executive Vice President Commercial Transactions.
In his remarks, Al-Duailej celebrated the milestone, stating: “I congratulate flynas on this significant agreement, which reflects the rapid development and transformation of Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector under Vision 2030. The growth and expansion of flynas are truly remarkable.”
“This deal is pivotal for achieving the National Civil Aviation Strategy’s goal to connect the Kingdom with over 250 international destinations and increase passenger traffic to 330 million annually by 2030,” he added
flynas CEO and Managing Director Bander Almohanna highlighted the strategic importance of the deal, saying: “This agreement to purchase 160 Airbus aircraft reinforces our determination to establish flynas as a leading global low-cost carrier. 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. This will enable us to explore new long-haul markets, offer more seat capacity, with diverse and innovative products to our passengers.”
Almohanna further emphasized that “doubling our fleet order supports the National Civil Aviation Strategy’s objectives, including increasing international connectivity to KSA, reinforcing the objectives of The Guests of Allah Service Program , and enabling the National Tourism Strategy, in addition to creating numerous direct and indirect job opportunities”.
Concluding his remarks, Almohanna said: “flynas is committed to medium and long-term growth, aiming to expand our fleet operation size to over 160 aircraft by 2030 from the current operation of 61 aircraft consisting of 53 A320neo aircraft, 4 A320ceo aircraft, and 4 A330ceo aircraft.”
Airbus Chief Executive Officer, Commercial Aircraft, Christian Scherer said, "We are delighted to expand our partnership with flynas through this significant milestone for both A320neo and A330-900 aircraft. The A330neo will allow flynas to further grow into widebody markets by building on the A320, benefiting from Airbus’ unique commonality. Both aircraft types offer flynas the perfect versatility and economics to expand into new markets while offering their passengers the latest cabin experience and comfort. We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration with flynas as they embark on this exciting new chapter.”
Last year, during the 2023 Paris Air Show, flynas had signed an agreement with Airbus for 30 additional A320neo aircraft as part of fleet expansion from the previous order for 120 aircraft that was signed in 2016. Currently, flynas operates over 70 domestic and international routes with more than 1500 weekly flights and has served over 78 million passengers since its launch in 2007.
