Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation (Saudia) is negotiating with Boeing and Airbus a $10 billion (SAR 37.5 billion) deal for wide-body planes, the airline’s Director General, Saleh Bin Nasser Al Jasser, told Al Arabiya.
The deal is expected to be complete before year-end, and will be financed via loans.
The Kingdom’s national carrier today reached an agreement to expand its existing purchase of A320 aircraft from 35 to 100 aircraft. Al Jasser said the agreement, inked on the sidelines of Paris Air Show, includes purchasing 65 A320neo aircrafts with the right to top up 35 A321/A320-neo aircrafts.
Read here: Saudia places $7.4 bln Airbus plane order in Paris
Al Jasser added that the company received 80 new aircraft over the last three years and retired around 40 old ones.
Saudia has significantly expanded its fleet, with an average aircraft age of less than five years, he said.
He explained that such deals come in line with a Saudi strategy aimed at boosting the number of pilgrimages, in addition to the imminent inauguration of King Abdel Aziz International Airport.
Saudia currently flies to more than 95 routes across four continents.
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