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Saudia Group is in talks with Airbus and Boeing to boost its wide-body jet capacity, Saudia Group General Manager Abdullah Alshahrani told Reuters. The number of wide-body jets for Saudia Airlines and Flyadeal is still being decided, but Saudia Group will place an order this year, Alshahrani said.
The rationale: “A lack of production slots at Airbus, especially for the A320, forced the group to look at wide-body jets,” Alshahrani said on the sidelines of the CAPA India aviation conference in New Delhi.
ICYMI- Saudia ordered 105 narrow-body aircraft from Airbus last month, valued at USD 19 bn, marking the largest aircraft order in the Kingdom’s history.
What’s next? Alshahrani said Saudia Group intends to visit COMAC’s China facility in September to evaluate the jets for future consideration, although it’s “not the time” to place an order. Saudia officials met with reps from Air India last week to talk about partnerships including a codeshare agreement, he added.
IN OTHER AVIATION NEWS-
Hong Kong flag airline Cathay Pacific will launch direct passenger flights to Riyadh starting 28 October, it said in a statement. It will launch three weekly return flights between Hong Kong and Riyadh using their Airbus A350-900 aircraft on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
What they said: “This new service will offer more travel options and greater convenience for our customers traveling to and from Saudi Arabia, as well as promote opportunities for business, trade and tourism,” Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam said.
We’ve been expecting this: Last month, Saudi Air Connectivity Program CEO Majid Khan said the program was expected to announce “big news” in the first week of June on a new route connecting Asia to the Kingdom. Another announcement on a destination “from the west” is set to be made after the summer, Khan said, refusing to disclose further details.
