March 14, 20233 yr Saudi Arabia Airlines, and a new spinoff, may be positioning itself to challenge major carriers in the region with the acquisition of 87 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in a mega deal announced today. The carrier, which already flies into many European and three US destinations, is ideally situated to offer good connections to Bangkok and other southeast Asian destinations it already serves. From CNBC Boeing said Tuesday it has reached a deal to sell 78 of its 787 Dreamliner planes to two Saudi airlines, the latest large order for the wide-body jets in the past few months. Boeing did not disclose a timeline for deliveries of the planes. The White House said the order is worth almost $37 billion, although that figure does not take discounts that airlines usually receive, especially for large orders, into account. “This will support the country’s goal of serving 330 million passengers and attracting 100 million visits by 2030,” Riyadh Air said in a news release. The sale shows a pickup in demand for wide-body aircraft, planes that are used for long-distance flights and fetch a higher price than the more-common narrow-body jets. Riyadh Air is owned by the country’s sovereign wealth fund and will be helmed by Tony Douglas as CEO, a longtime industry veteran and former CEO of Etihad Airways. “The ambition here in the kingdom is huge,” Douglas said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “There will be more [aircraft] orders, for the avoidance of any doubt.” He said the order will help Saudi Arabia connect to 100 destinations.
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