flyadeal receives milestone 40th aircraft in France

Arab News

4 days ago

flyadeal, Saudi Arabia's fast-growing low-cost airline, has taken delivery of its newest and milestone 40th aircraft in a ceremony attended by employees flown specially to France for the handover.
Thirteen staff, including crew and competition winners chosen in a lucky draw from across the company, were given a behind-the-scenes tour of Airbus' aircraft assembly plant in Toulouse, southern France, before taking the delivery flight back to Saudi Arabia.
The airline's 29th A320neo, named Al-Faras ('The Horse'), is part of flyadeal's 40-strong narrowbody fleet that also includes 11 of the A320ceo variant.
Captain Naif Almatrafi, director of operations, flyadeal, was handed over the keys to the airline's latest flying asset by Airbus management before commanding the aircraft for the near six-hour flight to Jeddah. He was joined in the cockpit by co-pilot Lawrence Itani from Lebanon.
Steven Greenway, flyadeal CEO, said: 'An incredibly proud moment for the flyadeal family to now operate a fleet of 40 aircraft in such a short time of less than eight years since our very first flight. It's an amazing achievement, a great milestone, and one to build on as we continue to expand with vigor to meet our growth targets.
'What's even more special is we flew a number of our employees to Toulouse for a memorable trip to see firsthand the hard work that goes into planning, building, assembling and delivering an aircraft. Boarding the aircraft as special passengers for the journey back to the Kingdom was a bonus dream flight to cherish. Thanks to our partners at Airbus for their hospitality in supporting the visit.'
Captain Abdulaziz Bahri, flyadeal chief operating officer, added: 'Being the backbone of our fleet, the A320neos have demonstrated operational resilience, great performance efficiency and, importantly, contributed significantly to punctuality as reflected in our extremely consistent and above industry average on-time departure and arrival data, which only last month showed we were the world's most punctual airline.'
flyadeal has rapidly developed into the Middle East's fastest growing airline operating its young fleet from bases in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam to more than 30 year-round and seasonal destinations across Saudi Arabia, and in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa and South Asia. By 2030, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, flyadeal expects to triple its network to over 100 destinations and more than 100 aircraft.
As part of future fleet requirements, flyadeal placed its largest-ever order last year for 51 Airbus A320 family aircraft, comprising 12 A320neos and 39 larger A321neos, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2027.