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flyadeal Picks A330neo for Fleet Expansion

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Rendering of the A330s in the purple tail/engine/tex with yellow highlights flyadeal livery (image via flyadeal)
Rendering of the A330s in the flyadeal livery (image via flyadeal)

Saudia’s flyadeal is in it for the long haul. The carrier announced plans to acquire ten A330neo aircraft as part of a fleet expansion that will also see it stretch operations further east for passenger traffic.

The carrier previously leveraged charters of larger jets to handle inbound pilgrimage traffic. Last year it briefly shifted some of those planes into scheduled service during their charter window to get a feel for the opportunity. Now it is moving forward with the bigger plan.

In a conversation at Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg earlier this month CEO Steven Greenway shared with PaxEx.Aero that he expects to fit the plane with 420 seats. The layout will including a small (~20 seats) premium cabin. That will be more like recliners than beds, however, both because of the planned trip duration and the expected market demand.

In making the decision Greenway noted that the team flew with other A330neo operators, including the 451-seat Cebu Pacific configuration. Taking that trip for several hours was a key validation point in confirming the planned flyadeal layout.

Greenway also shared that he does not expect inflight connectivity to be on offer with the new planes. While there is some demand for the services, it is “not key to [flyadeal’s] proposition at this time. That’s in part because he remains unconvinced by the economics of the offerings, even with the newer networks maturing over the past year.

The carrier did announce last week that its A321neo fleet will arrive with Essenza SE seats from Geven, including UBS-C power ports from Astronics. No word yet if those choices will carry over into the widebody fleet.

That target customer base is mostly foreign laborers and pilgrims. This matches the bulk of the carrier’s foreign traffic today, but with the A330s that share of its market will grow significantly. Greenway does not expect the A330s to operate much within flyadeal’s domestic network, though notes it is possible for peak times between Riyadh and Jeddah, boosting capacity where slots are limited.

The traffic is also nearly all point-to-point, despite flyadeal’s growing route network. While the carrier has the technical capabilities to offer connections (and does to and from Saudia flights), it does not offer those for flyadeal itineraries.

Choosing the A330neo was driven in large part by the commonality and consistency from the company’s existing A320 family fleet. That includes an order for 54 A321neo aircraft announced a year ago.

Greenway also shared an affinity for the incremental upgrade path Airbus uses in its aircraft development. The final A330ceo built came with notably different specifications than the first one off the line.

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About Seth Miller

Seth Miller has over a decade of experience covering the airline industry. With a strong focus on passenger experience, Seth also has deep knowledge of inflight connectivity and loyalty programs. He is widely respected as an unbiased commentator on the aviation industry.

He is frequently consulted on innovations in passenger experience by airlines and technology providers.

You can connect with Seth via email, on Bluesky, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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