Saudi Arabia’s National Carrier Orders More Than 100 New Airbus Jets

Saudi Arabia’s national airline has finalized an order for more than 100 new Airbus jets, marking a significant move in the country’s tourism expansion strategy. The Saudia Group, encompassing Saudia airline and its subsidiary Flyadeal, disclosed procuring 105 aircraft from Airbus’s A320neo family.

This includes 12 A320neos and 93 A321neos, contributing to Saudia Group’s total Airbus aircraft backlog of 144 A320neo family planes. This substantial investment aligns with Saudia’s objective to enhance flight frequencies and seating capacity, aiming to attract over 150 million tourists by 2030.

In its annual earnings report released in February, Airbus announced positive results for its commercial aircraft business, setting a target of 800 commercial aircraft deliveries, 67 more than in 2023.

This stands in contrast to the challenges faced by its U.S. counterpart Boeing, which has been recuperating from the setbacks of two crashes involving Max jets in 2018 and 2019. Boeing encountered further issues when a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 on Jan. 5, presenting continued challenges for the company.