Saudia Group has just placed a massive narrow body aircraft order, which is described as the largest aircraft order in Saudi Arabian aviation history.
In this post:
Saudia goes all-in on Airbus A320neo family
Saudia Group, which includes full service airline Saudia and low cost carrier flyadeal, has just placed an order for 105 Airbus A320neo family aircraft. This order is broken down as follows (while this is a firm order, the delivery timeline hasn’t yet been revealed):
- Saudia will acquire 54 Airbus A321neos
- flyadeal will acquire 39 Airbus 321neos and 12 Airbus A320neos
This adds to the Airbus A320neo family aircraft that Saudia Group has previously ordered (some of which are already flying):
- Saudia has ordered 20 Airbus A321neos, six of which have already been delivered
- Saudia has ordered 15 Airbus A321XLRs, none of which have been delivered yet
- flyadeal has ordered 31 Airbus A320neos, 21 of which have already been delivered
Here’s how Director General of Saudia Group, Ibrahim Al-Omar, describes this order:
“Saudia has ambitious operational objectives to meet growing demand. We are increasing flights and seat capacity across our existing 100+ destinations on four continents, with plans for further expansion. The progress of Saudi Vision 2030 is attracting more visits, tourists, entrepreneurs, and pilgrims each year. This motivated our decision to secure this significant deal, which will create jobs, increase local content, and contribute to the national economy.”
While this is a significant order, I don’t think there’s anything terribly surprising here:
- Saudia Group wants to continue to grow flyadeal, and the airline exclusively operates Airbus A320 family aircraft, so it makes sense to order the most efficient version of this jet
- Saudia has an existing fleet of 37 Airbus A320s and 15 Airbus A321s (all non-neo), so it makes sense for the airline to start thinking about replacing those planes
- The only noteworthy thing here is that Saudia Group is heavily focused on the larger A321neo rather than the smaller A320neo, which makes perfect sense, when you consider that the plane has better unit costs, and aviation in Saudi Arabia is growing rapidly
It’s interesting to me how Saudia seems to be focused on Airbus jets for narrow body aircraft, and Boeing jets for wide body aircraft. Saudia currently has 21 Boeing 787s, with an additional 38 on order (split between the 787-9 and 787-10). The carrier’s long haul fleet could certainly use a bit of a refresh, as the airline otherwise has 33 Airbus A330-300s and 35 Boeing 777-300ERs.
I wonder if we could eventually see an Airbus A330-900neo order (to replace A330-300s), or an Airbus A350-1000 order (to replace 777-300ERs). Probably not, but you never know…
I’m impressed by the investments in Saudia
In 2025 we’re going to see the launch of Riyadh Air, which is one of the best funded airline startups that we’ve seen in decades. When plans for the airline were first announced, many wondered if this would be the end of Saudi Arabia investing in national carrier Saudia.
As time has gone on, it has become clear that this isn’t the case. Instead, Saudia will heavily focus on Jeddah (JED), while Riyadh Air will heavily focus on Riyadh (RUH). Not only has there been no sign of cutbacks at Saudia, but quite to the contrary, we’ve seen continued investments in the airline.
Beyond fleet modernization, we’ve learned that:
- Starting in 2025, Saudia plans to introduce business class suites with doors throughout its wide body fleet; that includes on newly delivered aircraft, as well as existing ones
- On Airbus A321XLRs, Saudia also plans to offer business class suites with doors, which should be one of the best narrow body business class products
I’m curious to see how Saudia plans to configure planes that are part of its latest A321neo order. Currently Saudia’s A321neos are used primarily for regional routes, and the planes have a pretty dense configuration. Business class is in a 2-2 layout, with shell seats that recline a bit.
Meanwhile Saudia’s older A320s have largely been reconfigured with flat beds in business class, as these planes are often used for slightly longer routes, beyond the Gulf region.
Given the number of A321neos that Saudia has on order, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple of configurations. I imagine a good number of A321neos will get the same layout you currently find on these planes, while some A321neos may get the same layout as the A321XLR, and will be used for more premium and longer routes.
Bottom line
Saudia Group has placed a substantial order for the Airbus A320neo family of aircraft. The order is comprised primarily of A321neos, with planes intended for both Saudia and flyadeal. Saudia operates quite a few previous generation A320s and A321s, so I imagine these new jets will be used largely to refresh the fleet.
Saudi Arabia has a much larger population than neighboring Gulf countries, so in many ways, the country’s aviation potential hasn’t been fully unlocked. However, there’s also no denying that Saudi Arabia’s government is extremely optimistic with its tourism ambitions, and we’ll have to see how that plays out. Even with Saudi Arabia having deep pockets, I wonder if the level of investment continues. We’ve already seen Saudi Arabia’s flagship “The Line” project get scaled back a bit.
What do you make of Saudia’s Airbus order?
Unsure the big deal about the doors in business class. To me, it makes the space feel smaller. Personally, I prefer the 1-2-1 configuration.
This blog gets very excited about doors in business and first classes, almost comically so. I personally wonder if even 1% of purchasing decisions are influenced by the presence or absence of doors, but then many airlines are installing them. So many they are?
Saudia mainly operates their A330s on dense regional routes. They use it for their capacity, not so much their range. So I imagine down the road, either Saudia will order something to replace their 77Ws and use that on their current A333 routes, or they will use their 787s on their current A330 routes (perhaps have some 787s in a regional dense configuration), or maybe Saudia will just fly their A321neos on their A330 routes,...
Saudia mainly operates their A330s on dense regional routes. They use it for their capacity, not so much their range. So I imagine down the road, either Saudia will order something to replace their 77Ws and use that on their current A333 routes, or they will use their 787s on their current A330 routes (perhaps have some 787s in a regional dense configuration), or maybe Saudia will just fly their A321neos on their A330 routes, and perhaps fly 2 flights where 1 was previously flown. But the A330 fleet is large enough that I wouldn't rule out an A330neo order.
Saudia says they would have ordered more aircraft but delivery positions are sold out until well into the 2030s.
Given Boeing's delays, this pretty well says that narrowbody and likely widebody delivery positions for both Airbus and Boeing are sold out for the rest of the decade unless airlines already have options.
Growth will be limited to aircraft that airlines have on order and option plus whatever aircraft are returned to service as...
Saudia says they would have ordered more aircraft but delivery positions are sold out until well into the 2030s.
Given Boeing's delays, this pretty well says that narrowbody and likely widebody delivery positions for both Airbus and Boeing are sold out for the rest of the decade unless airlines already have options.
Growth will be limited to aircraft that airlines have on order and option plus whatever aircraft are returned to service as part of Geared Turbofan repairs and activation of any used aircraft.
Specific to Saudia, it appears they are committed to growing tourism and becoming a global airline power. It is surprising they haven't done it earlier but simply says that the opportunity is there now.
I flew an A321 from RSI to RUH the other day. I was pleasantly surprised! Business class was really nice for such a short flight.