Flynas plans to use wide-body aircraft for long-haul service

Flynas, Saudi Arabia's low-cost carrier, is planning to use wide-body aircraft to long-haul service destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Europe and Africa, group chief executive Bander Almohanna  told The National.

The airline will hold discussions with Boeing and Airbus over the next two months to place a sizeable order for either Boeing 777s or Airbus A330s, plus Airbus’ long-range A321-ER neo.

“We will launch in the next couple of months a campaign for wide-body jets, targeting destinations that cannot be reached by the existing equipment [fleet]. So, this would be mainly the Far East – Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur –the far West, and Africa," he said.

The deal is expected to be similar in size to Flynas’ order of 120 A320neos in January last year, due for delivery between Q4 2018 and 2026.

“The market size of Saudi Arabia is more than the airline, so we are not competing with Saudia; we are complementing it by trying to reach markets not served well by any Saudi airline, and to get people to come direct instead of through connecting traffic,” Almohanna said.

Flynas expects 10 percent earnings growth in 2018 after a flat 2016/17 due to sluggish conditions in the regional economy and the wider aviation industry, Almohanna noted.

The budget carrier expects passenger numbers to rise to 7.5 million in 2018 from 6.4 million in 2017, aided by an anticipated 5 percent growth in Umrah and Haj pilgrims this year.