Saudia Plans Major Aircraft Order

Saudia Group is planning a major new commercial aircraft order for Saudi carriers, including flyadeal, with deliveries expected throughout the 2030s.

The planned delivery window, from 2031 to 2040, according to people familiar with the matter, would not only replace older aircraft but also increase the number of available next-generation aircraft.

Board approval is required before the transaction can proceed, but the Group has already completed a thorough assessment not only of its current long-haul fleet but, critically, of the next decade’s requirements.

The request for proposal process is expected to begin after directors approve it, with the Group keen to get the ball rolling as widebody and narrowbody availability becomes scarcer after sizeable contracts are signed.

The number of aircraft involved in the deal has not yet been disclosed; however, the order has been labelled substantial and would likely include more than one aircraft type, given the delivery window expected over an entire decade.

Long-term fleet assessment allows new orders to come

Saudia’s pursuit of new commercial aircraft follows an assessment of how many aircraft it needs to replace and support longer-term growth. The group’s executive vice president of strategy and acting chief executive of flyadeal, Sanjiv Kapoor, confirmed to Bloomberg.

The interim chief’s comments confirm that the Group is now positioned to submit RFPs to manufacturers to gauge what aircraft types and contracts are available; however, it first needs board approval.

Saudia’s pursuit of new aircraft follows early-2026 reporting that suggested the business was in preliminary discussions with Airbus and Boeing for around 150 narrowbody and widebody aircraft. Since the first reports emerged, talk has quieted.

A possible 150-aircraft order for Saudia is important; the substantial deal supports efforts not only to grow and add capacity to destinations that need it over the next ten years, but also to renew the current fleet.

The eventual aircraft count, which has yet to be determined, therefore may not translate directly into a priority of increasing the number of aircraft, but rather into helping the airlines within the Group more adequately match outgoings without losing capacity in the process.

Saudia has already bought from Airbus

The proposed purchase also follows heavy commitments Saudia made for new commercial aircraft in previous years. In May 2024, the business announced a deal with Airbus for over 100 A320neo family jets, including 93 A321neos.

At the time of the contract, the business confirmed that more than half of those A321neos would be allocated to the full-service airline Saudia and flyadeal, with the remaining A321neos, along with the sole 12 A320neos, under the contract.

Saudi went back for more Airbus jets a year late, after the manufacturer disclosed in April 2025 that flyadeal had purchased 10 A330-900s from the A330neo family. These are all part of the business’s existing future fleet commitments.

The latest talk of a mammoth new contract concerns the business’s next purchasing cycle, and while it will eventually add to a broader backlog thanks to its 2031-2040 planned delivery window, it extends beyond this decade and represents a far-from-immediate fleet addition.

Finer details of the contract remain unclear, with Kapoor identifying only the planned delivery window and saying the purchasing structure remains open, either going all in on an order or placing them in tranches, to be determined in the RFP process, which comes after board approval.