Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier flyadeal is preparing to enter the long-haul market.
On Wednesday, parent company Saudia Group announced a widebody aircraft order with Airbus. The deal for 10 A330neo jets, plus an additional 10 options, marks a major milestone in the development of the Jeddah-based budget airline.
The announcement comes less than a year after a separate order for single-aisle planes. In May 2024, the Saudia Group ordered 105 Airbus jets, including 54 A321neos for flyadeal. The low-cost carrier currently operates 37 A320 family aircraft.
Flyadeal is currently growing at around 10-15% per year – a trajectory that is due to continue until at least 2030.
Where Will Flyadeal Fly?
Without sharing specific city targets, a statement published on Wednesday via Airbus said the order “paves the way for new long-haul services.” Flyadeal’s existing narrowbody fleet sees its network span from the Balkans to Pakistan, leveraging hubs in Riyadh and Jeddah.
With an official range of up to 7,200 nautical miles (13,300km), the introduction of the A330-900 could see the carrier comfortably reach the UK, Japan, and even Western Australia. Destinations with strong existing connections to Saudi Arabia, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, are likely to be among the early candidates.
Taking to social media, flyadeal CEO Steven Greenway said: “The A330neo will fuel our network expansion into Europe, the sub-continent, and Southeast Asia with one of the lowest unit costs in the business.”
Greenway added: “This is the most significant strategic development for flyadeal since we began operations almost eight years ago.”
Flyadeal has previous experience with widebodies via sporadic leasing agreements, primarily for Hajj pilgrim flights.
Privately owned Saudi carrier Flynas is a one of flyadeal’s biggest low-cost rivals. It already serves a broad network of international destinations and also has ambitious growth plans.
What Will the Planes Look Like?
Configurations were not detailed in Wednesday’s announcement, however, the introduction of widebody aircraft could see flyadeal carry more than 400 passengers on each service.
If the airline follows the ultra-dense all-economy configuration of Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific, more than 450 passengers could fly on its A330-900.
Speaking at the Skift Global Forum East in Dubai last November, Greenway hinted that a widebody deal was on the cards: “We want to go further. There is a massive mandate from the [Saudi] government in terms of bringing pilgrims, worker traffic, and high-volume and low-yield traffic, into the Kingdom. We want to stretch our wings. The real strategy behind it is that we have to go for widebodies to cater to that market.”
Saudi Surge in Connectivity
The deal comes amid a broader ramp-up of air connectivity to and from Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has a widely publicized goal that aims to connect 250 destinations and facilitate the travel of over 330 million travelers and 150 million tourists by the end of the decade.
Flyadeal isn’t the only no-frills airline making a long-haul move in Saudi. Low-cost carrier Wizz Air is due to be the first to operate scheduled nonstop services from London to Medina, with the new daily link launching on August 1. The flights will be operated by the ‘Xtra Long Range’ narrowbody Airbus A321XLR.
Saudi tourism chiefs previously defended perceptions that the country’s tourism drive was focused on high-end visitors. Significant long-haul, low-cost airline capacity should help change attitudes and enhance accessibility.
Wednesday’s flyadeal announcement came just hours after Virgin Atlantic landed in Riyadh.
The British carrier launched a daily service from its London Heathrow hub, marking its first destination in the country. Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson was among the senior delegation onboard the inaugural flight.
Watch Steven Greenway, flyadeal CEO, at the Skift Global Forum East 2024:
Airlines Sector Stock Index Performance Year-to-Date
What am I looking at? The performance of airline sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets including network carriers, low-cost carriers, and other related companies.
The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies worth more than a trillion dollars into a single number. See more airlines sector financial performance.
Read the full methodology behind the Skift Travel 200.
