Saudi Arabia’s Largest-Ever Plane Order Goes to Airbus A320neo Series
Saudi Arabia’s national airline has placed an order for 105 Airbus airplanes in the largest deal in the country’s aviation history, marking a significant win for Boeing’s European rival. Ibrahim Al-Omar, director general of Saudia Group, the state-controlled owner of Saudia airline and low-cost carrier Flyadeal, announced that the first planes would be delivered in the first quarter of 2026.
“The Saudia Group announces today the largest deal in the history of Saudi aviation,” Al-Omar stated at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh, referring to the contract with Airbus.
Saudia Group’s current fleet includes 93 Airbus and 51 Boeing aircraft. The latest deal adds to the group’s existing backlog of 39 Airbus aircraft, as noted in a statement by the European airplane manufacturer.
While Al-Omar did not specify whether the size of the order or its total value made it Saudi Arabia’s biggest-ever aviation deal, organizers of the Future Aviation Forum reported that the new order totals $19 billion. When asked by CNN, Saudia Group did not respond, and Airbus declined to comment.
Al-Omar mentioned that this new order aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a program aimed at diversifying the country’s economy away from oil. A key part of this program is making the kingdom an attractive destination for tourists.
“Saudia has ambitious operational objectives to meet growing demand,” Al-Omar said. “We are increasing flights and seat capacity across our existing 100-plus destinations on four continents, with plans for further expansion.”
The country aims to attract 150 million tourists per year by 2030, according to its National Tourism Strategy.
Another Win for Boeing’s Rival
The news of Saudi Arabia’s deal with Airbus comes as Boeing faces intense scrutiny over a series of safety failures, including a mid-air blowout of part of a fuselage in January. This incident has led to multiple investigations into Boeing’s practices, an executive shake-up, and promises of improvement.
Boeing has been struggling since fatal crashes of its 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019 resulted in a 20-month grounding of its best-selling plane. The company was also hit hard by the pandemic, which brought air travel to a near standstill and caused deep losses for many airlines.
Since the grounding in 2019, Boeing has reported adjusted losses totaling more than $31 billion. This year alone, its stock price has dropped by almost 28%. Despite having a backlog of over 5,600 commercial jets worth $529 billion, Boeing cannot produce planes quickly enough to turn a profit while addressing its quality issues. In contrast, Airbus reported an order backlog of almost 8,600 aircraft at the end of 2023 and posted a profit of €3.8 billion ($4.1 billion) for the year.
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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, cnn.com