Saudia‘s Fleet Expansion Well Underway With 4th New Aircraft

The third Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner took off for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, today to join the fleet of Saudia, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia.

This is the fourth new aircraft delivered by Boeing to Saudia within two weeks, with the Dreamliner being the third of a total of eight ordered by the airline as part of its fleet expansion and modernization program. Saudia expects to get 29 new aircraft this year. The plan is to increase Saudia’s fleet to around 200 by the year 2020.

Just last week, Saudia’s top executives, headed by H.E. Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia and Saudia’s Chairman of the Board and Engr. Saleh Al-Jasser, Director General, formally accepted the first three new Boeing aircraft from Ray Conner, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO.

“We look forward to the 787 becoming an integral addition to Saudia’s fleet as we continue our fleet modernization and expansion as part of our transformation plans,” according to Saudia Director General Eng. Al-Jasser.

Saudia started back in 1945 with one DC-3 Dakota aircraft, the gift of US President Franklin Roosevelt to King Abdul Aziz, the founding King of Saudi Arabia. Today, Saudia flies to more than 80 destinations and carries more than 27 million passengers annually.