When it comes to airlines in the Middle East, it’s most likely that three carriers come to mind: Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad. These three airlines alone have come a long way in dominating the long-haul travel market, particularly when it comes to connecting Europe and North America, with Asia and Africa with single-stop itineraries in their respective hubs. But while these three carriers (collectively known as the ME3) tend to make the headlines, there are many others in the region carving out their own markets. Saudi Arabian Airlines, otherwise known as Saudia, is one of those carriers.

Over 150 aircraft

In terms of full-service airlines operating in the Middle East, Saudia is one of the largest. This SkyTeam Alliance member actually has more aircraft than UAE carrier Etihad. Indeed, Planespotters.net data indicates that Etihad operates 90 aircraft, while Saudia has a fleet of 152. Even if we remove wet leases and freighters, Saudia still comes out on top.

Saudia A330s
Photo: Airbus

Below are the types and quantities of Saudia-operated aircraft at the time of publication:

  • 40x Airbus A320-200
  • 15x Airbus A321-200
  • 1x Airbus A321neo
  • 2x Airbus A330-200
  • 32x Airbus A330-300
  • 2x Boeing 747-400
  • 33x Boeing 777-300ER
  • 13x Boeing 787-9
  • 5x Boeing 787-10

It’s worth noting that Planespotters.net lists another two 777-300ERs in a VIP configuration, but we’ve excluded these jets from the count.

The A330-300 Regional

One special aspect of the Saudi Arabian Airlines fleet is that it was the very first to operate the aircraft known as the A330-300 Regional. With 20 A330-300 Regional aircraft ordered by the airline at the 2015 Paris Airshow, this variant is specially optimized for regional and domestic operations.

Speaking about the first delivery in August 2016, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser Director General Saudi Arabian Airlines, said:

“The advantage of operating the new regional version of such a popular aircraft with proven operational flexibility and lowest cost per seat means unbeatable economics for our business and our customers.”

Saudia A330-300 Regional
Photo: Airbus

The A330-300 Regional is optimized for missions up to 2,700 nm covering short to medium haul routes. The variant offers significant cost savings through a reduced operational weight of around 200 tons. According to Airbus, the reduction in fuel burn per seat and maintenance costs result in an overall cost reduction of around 20% compared with long-range A330-300s.

In case you were wondering about the specific aircraft, ch-aviation.com notes that these are registered sequentially, starting at HZ-AQ11, and going through to AQ30. All of these jets have a configuration of 30 business class seats and 300 in economy class. Quite interestingly, it looks like Saudia was the only airline to ever order this A330 variant.

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Wet-leased aircraft

Another interesting aspect of Saudia’a current passenger fleet is that it includes a number of aircraft on short-term leases. Operating as a wet lease or partial-wet-lease, this includes the two passenger Boeing 747-400s, which come from Air Atlanta Europe. There are also the two A330-200s operated by Maleth Aero and a single Airbus A330-300 that comes from Wamos Air.

Interestingly, four of the five wet-leased aircraft arrived in just the past one or two months. This is likely the airline’s way of handling a spike in travelers as a result of pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina.

Saudia's future fleet

In terms of undelivered aircraft, data from ch-aviation notes that the carrier is expecting 19 Airbus A321neos, as well as 15 A321XLRs.

From Boeing, the airline is expecting to take delivery of another two Boeing 787-10s in the short term. However, on March 14th, 2023, the airline ordered a firm 39 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with options for an additional 10. While the -9 and -10 are mentioned, the exact quantities of each variant is unknown.

Why is Saudia less discussed than the ME3 airlines?

So with a fleet that’s even larger than Etihad, why might this carrier have a lower profile than its Abu Dhabi-based counterpart? After all, Saudia also serves numerous destinations in Europe and a handful in North America. It also flies its aircraft to numerous cities in India and East and Southeast Asia. Additionally, while it doesn’t look like Saudia or Etihad serve South America, it appears that the former has a few more African destinations than the latter.

Additionally, the carrier is a member of one of the big three airline alliances. On May 29th, 2012, Saudia celebrated joining SkyTeam, becoming the alliance's 16th member airline and the first in the Middle East. These days, Saudia and MEA are the only SkyTeam alliance members based in the region.

Saudia’s exclusion from being considered one of the ‘big middle eastern airlines’ might be due to a lack of marketing or simply not focusing as much on connecting travelers on long-haul journeys. While the carrier offers a decent inflight product and offers lengthy, single-stop itineraries like the ME3 airlines, it seems to have a bigger focus on connecting various cities across Saudi Arabia to each other and the wider region.

In terms of onboard product, the carrier offers some luxurious products that can decently compete with other full-service airlines. The airline has fitted some of its Boeing 777-300ERs with a first class suite, which appears to be a lie-flat seat, fully enclosed with large sliding doors. Much of the airline’s widebody fleet, including all of its Boeing 787s, offer lie-flat business class pods for premium travelers. Furthermore, some of its narrowbodies, configured for longer, international services, are fitted with fast and modern inflight entertainment systems, even in economy class.

Rival or partner? Another Saudi state-owned airline coming

These days, it looks like the plan for a Saudi Arabian carrier to rival the ME3 won’t come through Saudia. Instead, it appears that a new Saudi Arabian national airline is set to do this. Announced in mid-March, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will launch a new national airline by the name of Riyadh Air. To ensure that the carrier knows what it’s doing, it has hired former Etihad CEO Tony Douglas to lead the new airline.

According to Reuters, Riyadh Air will serve more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030, offering a similar one-stop-itinerary model utilized by the established Middle Eastern carriers - as well as Turkish Airlines and Ethiopian. The mid-March announcement was quickly followed by a press release from Boeing stating that the new airline had ordered 39 Dreamliners, with options for 33 more.

Thus, with all of these big plans for Riyadh Airlines, it looks like Saudia will be quietly operating in the background, acting more as a gateway to cities across the region.

Saudia's Islamic focus

There are two big things that set Saudia apart from its ME3 counterparts: Alcohol and prayer facilities.

As Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country, drinking alcohol is considered haram (forbidden) in Islam. Indeed, Saudi Arabia and its airline’s connection to Islam is unsurprising, given that the country is the birthplace of the religion. Thus, Saudia observes and caters to many customs of Islam, including the prohibition of alcohol. In fact, all Saudi carriers prohibit the drinking and carrying of alcohol on their services.

Another major change to the airline’s flight services has to do with the addition of an onboard prayer room. As noted by the website KSA Moments, the most prominent airline to feature a prayer space is Saudia. This prayer facility is present in the rear of all Saudia widebody aircraft. With some spaces large enough to accommodate up to 10 passengers, this room is made possible with the absence of a section of economy seats ahead of the last galley in the center area.

It’s also noted that some of the airline’s jets also feature a display that points to find the Qibla, which is the direction of prayer for that moment. These carpeted areas also feature curtains for privacy.

A different target market?

Based on the airline’s strict no-alcohol policy, its onboard prayer rooms, and service to numerous cities across the region, it’s clear that it has chosen to prioritize local and Muslim populations rather than a broader international customer base.

Indeed, even the adoption of the A330-300 Regional shows that the airline’s focus is on moving travelers within Saudi Arabia and across the greater region.

It will be interesting to see how Riyadh Airlines works alongside Saudia - considering both airlines are state-owned. As it stands, Riyadh Airlines seems to be focused on long-haul travel that will provide competition for the other big Gulf carriers.

Still, for the time being, if you’re looking to travel from a major European city to a major Southeast Asian destination, with a single stopover in Jeddah or Riyadh, flying with Saudia would be a decent choice in terms of the inflight experience. This might be particularly notable if you are a SkyTeam member looking to exercise your elite status or collect points.

So what are your thoughts on Saudi Arabian Airlines? Is this a Middle Eastern carrier you think you would want to try one day? Or - if you’ve flown with the carrier before - what was your experience like? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment!

Sources: Reuters, KSA Moments, Planespotters.net

  • /wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Thomas_Boon_8-Saudia-2020-1000x667.jpg
    Saudia
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    SV/SVA
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Dammam Airport, Jeddah Airport, Riyadh Airport
    Year Founded:
    1945
    Alliance:
    SkyTeam
    CEO:
    Ibrahim Alkoshy
    Country:
    Saudi Arabia