Saudi Arabia is planning a large aircraft order for its second national airline, RIA, reports Reuters. The order could be for as many as 40 A350s valued at around $12bn at list price, with an additional order of another 40 aircraft. Narrowbody jets are also being considered alongside widebody planes, with tough competition between B737 and A320neo. The announcement is expected to be made at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum in Riyadh later this week, as per sources.
It is said that the purchase will be made by the sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) and would kickstart the operations of new startup RIA to compete with other airlines in the Middle East.
Although speculations for the Airbus aircraft orders are high, many believe that the option of a mixed fleet is not completely ruled out. Some sources have said that Saudi Arabia is in favor of Boeing 787 jets, but nothing is confirmed so far.
There are no official statements from either Boeing or Airbus.
As a part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is in the process of starting a new airline RIA with the target of attracting 30 million international transit passengers by the end of the decade. Saudi Arabia hopes to establish two world-class hub airlines that will compete with the major Middle Eastern airlines.