Flyadeal awaits Airbus delivery to begin long-haul flights

Flyadeal, Saudi Arabia’s low-cost carrier, plans to more than double its fleet size by 2030 and add longer-range aircraft.

The number of aircraft will exceed 100, up from the current 45, CEO Steven Greenway said.

The airline operates the Airbus A320, a narrow-body jet that can accommodate 186 passengers and serves flights to the UAE and wider Gulf and Middle East and North Africa region, extending to Europe and Pakistan.

The introduction of wide-body A330 aircraft will allow the airline to fly up to 13 hours, enabling it to reach destinations in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Bangladesh, non-stop from the kingdom.

In addition, the A330 will allow Flyadeal to expand west to the UK and France and other countries in mainland Europe, Greenway said.

Flyadeal will begin receiving larger Airbus A321 narrow-body aircraft from June 2027. These can accommodate 240 passengers. 

A month later, it will start receiving the first of 10 wide-body Airbus A330neo aircraft, capable of accommodating 420 passengers and with a range of up to 13 hours. These aircraft will include a small premium cabin.

In November, Greenway told AGBI that the airline expects to receive up to four A320s under a previous order placed in 2019.

The delays will force the carrier to use its existing fleet much more, potentially pushing aircraft to 14 hours a day, he said. 

“It’s [like] squeezing more out of [an] orange you’ve got,” Greenway said.

Flyadeal will receive 10 A330neos and may exercise the option to buy another 10 within the next two years, Greenway said.

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Passenger numbers increased by 33 percent in 2025, surpassing the 10 million passenger mark for the first time in a year. 

The airline expanded its destinations by 66 percent compared with 2024, the CEO said.

Flyadeal operates 250 scheduled daily flights from its bases in Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Medina, serving 30 seasonal and year-round destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and South Asia.