flyadeal (F3, Jeddah International) will decide between new and used aircraft for its widebody fleet by the end of the year, CEO Steven Greenway told FlightGlobal on the sidelines of a UK Aviation Club event in London.
“The overarching economics is it’s high-volume, low-yield [routes]. That’s where it sits for us,” he said.
He added that new A330s and new B787s remain options. However, as flyadeal is part of the Saudia Group, the CEO isn’t prepared to rule out repurposing old B787s from within the group.
“They are already in the Kingdom, there’s experience with the engine and the airframe. So you already now have two operators with the B787s and General Electric engines, so that is one option,” he said and added that the company will not be able to operate sustainably if it has to rely on wet leases instead of its own aircraft.
flyadeal’s in-house fleet currently comprises eleven A320-200s and twenty-five ACV!32020Ns. It also wet-leases a single A330-200 from Jordan Aviation (R5, Amman Queen Alia), ch-aviation fleets data shows.
Greenway is hoping for widebody deliveries by 2027-2028.
Speaking in late November on the Bitesize Business Breakfast Podcast, Greenway explained that larger aircraft help with limited slots and terminal facilities in certain parts of the day, particularly in Dubai International and Riyadh. Recently, Greenway also named India as a potential destination for the widebodies.
Greenway also said that the Dubai-Jeddah International route has become a vastly popular corridor for business as well as Riyah-Jeddah. He added that many Saudis are now working in the capital due to Vision 2030 investments, but they leave their families in Jeddah, meaning they commute daily between the two cities.
Earlier, the flyadeal CEO said that the carrier discarded the A350 as a too-large aircraft when discussing wide-body options. The airline is also expecting to add its first A321neo in the first quarter of 2026.
