Saudia Group agrees deal with Airbus for 105 aircraft

Saudia Group, owner of the Saudia airline and budget carrier flyadeal, has signed a deal with Airbus, opening a new tab for 105 confirmed aircraft, a senior executive announced in Riyadh on Monday.

The first planes are due for delivery in the first quarter of 2026, Ibrahim Alomar, director general of Saudia Group told the Future Aviation Forum in the Saudi capital.

The deal is the largest in Saudi aviation history, he said, without specifying the value of the agreement, which is expected to be billions of dollars.

A spokesperson for Saudia later confirmed to Reuters that the Airbus order was for narrow-body aircraft.

The deal for 105 aircraft is in addition to the 88 new aircraft that are due to be received over the next five years, Alomar said.

Alomar said that such investments were part of the group's strategy and consistent with Saudi Arabia's plans to develop its aviation sector.

State-owned Saudia plans to expand rapidly over the next seven years as part of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's Vision 2030 programme to wean the kingdom off its oil dependence. Tourism is a key pillar of the economic diversification strategy.

In November, Saudia said it was close to an agreement on an order for 100 narrow-body jets but wanted the manufacturer to agree to supply an additional 50-plus. It did not specify the manufacturer at the time.