Saudi Carrier Flyadeal Drops Airbus for Boeing With 30-Jet Order
(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabian discount carrier Flyadeal will defect to Boeing Co. jets from an all-Airbus SE fleet after ordering 30 737 Max narrow-body planes worth $3.5 billion at list prices.
The unit of state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines or Saudia announced the purchase on Friday and said it has options to add 20 more of the aircraft, which feature upgraded engines and compete with Airbus's A320neo model.
The accord represents as a setback for the European manufacturer, since Flyadeal's current fleet comprises only A320 “classic” planes. It had been competing with Boeing for the order since mid-2016, with the airline delaying a decision on several occasions. Flyadeal didn't say if it will retain its Airbus jets, though discount operators typically use only one type to keep down costs.
The deal come 2 1/2 months after Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi regime, was murdered by agents of the government, triggering expressions of outrage from European nations. U.S. President Donald Trump has evinced his continued support for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, even after the Central Intelligence Agency reportedly concluded that he ordered the killing.
Based in Jeddah, Flyadeal began flights in September last year and currently serves eight destinations. The fleet expansion will allow it to add more domestic routes and expand into foreign markets, Saudia Director General Saleh Al-Jasser said in the statement.
Airbus said in an email that it regrets the order decision, having supported Flyadeal since its inception. Saudia itself operates more than 100 aircraft from the Toulouse, France-based planemaker, while rival Flynas LCC has orders for 120 A320neos and SaudiGulf agreed last month to buy 10 of the planes.
To contact the reporter on this story: Layan Odeh in Dubai at lodeh3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Christopher Jasper, Tara Patel
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Signature Play: The Classic Cocktail Is Dead. Or Is It?
Classic cocktails are disappearing from India's cocktail menus. But they're still being ordered, taught to bartenders and borrowed from. So, who's really having the last drink?
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
