flyadeal (F3, Jeddah International) is planning to place a widebody order - its first - before the year ends, chief executive Steven Greenway said at the Routes World 2024 conference in Bahrain.
The Saudia (SV, Jeddah International) low-cost subsidiary sees opportunity with widebodies, “and we’re going after it,” Greenway said, adding that they are evaluating both the A330 and B787 but have discarded the A350, as it would be “too big.”
flyadeal will configure the widebodies with a small premium cabin, but its focus will remain on cabin density. These planes will allow the LCC to serve long-haul destinations and increase its international footprint. “80% of our flights are domestic, and 20% are international. By the end of next year, we expect that to shift to about 65% domestic and 35% international,” Greenway added.
Additionally, flyadeal’s management believes both the A330 and B787 have their advantages. Transitioning from the A320 Family up to the A330 would be an advantage for the European-manufactured airframes, while parent Saudia already operates the B787. However, Greenway downplayed sourcing any B787s from Saudia itself. “This is going to be on top of what they’ve already done,” he said. The ch-aviation fleets module shows Saudia has an order for twenty-one B787-10s and eighteen B787-9s.
flyadeal operates a fleet of 36 aircraft - eleven A320-200s, twenty-four A320-200Ns, and one A330-200 wet-leased from Jordan Aviation (R5, Amman Queen Alia). More widebody wet-leases are expected in 2025, Greenway said.
Additionally, the low-cost carrier has an order with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) for 58 additional planes, including nineteen A320-200Ns and thirty-nine A321-200Ns. The carrier expects to receive one aircraft per month on average for the next four years, totalling 88 narrowbodies by 2028. flyadeal hopes to add its first A321neo in 2026’s first quarter.
