Saudi Arabia's Flynas To Acquire 30 Widebody Aircraft In Major Expansion Move
Saudi Arabia's budget airline, flynas, is setting its sights on significant expansion, revealing plans to acquire 30 widebody aircraft to bolster its competitive edge in the region. This strategic move, announced on Tuesday, aims to enhance the airline's network and service capabilities. CEO Bander Almohanna indicated that a request for proposal (RFP) has been issued to aircraft manufacturers, though the specific models under consideration remain undisclosed. Currently, flynas operates four A330 wide-body aircraft within its all-Airbus fleet.
Highlighting its growth trajectory, flynas recently celebrated the arrival of its 50th Airbus A320neo jetliner at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. This delivery is part of a larger order of 120 A320neo aircraft, valued at over SR32 billion, underscoring the airline's ambitious expansion plans. Almohanna, speaking at the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Conference in Riyadh, shared that the airline anticipates finalizing and signing the deal for the new aircraft within the year, aligning with the company's strategic growth objectives.
In addition to its fleet expansion, flynas is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) later this year, after reporting a 32 per cent increase in revenues for 2023, totalling SR6.3 billion. This marks the first time the airline has disclosed its annual revenue figures, setting the stage for its planned IPO in 2024. For this significant milestone, flynas has enlisted the expertise of Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, and Saudi Fransi Capital to guide its listing on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul).
Under the banner 'We Connect the World to the Kingdom', flynas is committed to contributing to the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. The airline's shift towards incorporating wide-body aircraft is part of a broader aim to expand its service offerings. This includes increasing capacity for Haj and Umrah pilgrimages, a key customer segment for flynas, and potentially launching routes to Western Europe and other long-haul destinations.
Since its inception in 2007, flynas has consistently reported annual profits, with the exception of the pandemic years. In response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, flynas launched a strategic program to overhaul its business model and operational efficiency. This initiative resulted in significant cost savings of SR375 million during the pandemic period. Operating more than 70 domestic and international routes, with over 1,500 weekly flights, flynas has served over 78 million passengers to date, with plans to extend its network to 165 destinations.
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