Saudia Group expects first deliveries from a planned "substantial" aircraft order in 2031, according to Sanjiv Kapoor, the group's Executive Vice President of Strategy and acting CEO of flyadeal, who outlined the timeline in an interview with Bloomberg.

Kapoor said the group has finished sizing the requirement and is now awaiting final board approval before it opens a Request for Proposal process involving manufacturers.

"We have now completed the assessment of the number of aircraft we will need for growth as well as to replace the older fleet in the longer term," Kapoor told Bloomberg.

The order would cover aircraft for both Saudia, the full-service flag carrier, and flyadeal, its low-cost subsidiary. Kapoor indicated the purchase could be placed all at once or in stages, but he gave no indication of numbers.

How large could the order be?

Reports earlier this year pointed to a potential order of at least 150 jets split between Boeing and Airbus, including 777-9s and A321neo-family aircraft. Neither manufacturer has confirmed a deal, and no RFP has been issued.

The timing matters for both OEMs. Boeing's 777-9 remains uncertificated, and any Saudia commitment would add to a backlog that already stretches well past the end of the decade. Airbus would face the same delivery-slot arithmetic on the A321neo line, the tightest wide capacity constraint in its production system.

A 2031 first delivery sits comfortably within current backlog timelines for both programs, which suggests Saudia is sequencing the order around realistic industrial slots rather than near-term capacity.

What does Saudia already have on order?

The new order would sit on top of one of the larger outstanding books in the region. Saudia is still awaiting dozens of aircraft tied to its Vision 2030 ambitions.

According to ch-aviation data, Saudia's outstanding deliveries include:

• 60 A321neos
• 12 A321XLRs
• 18 787-9s
• 10 787-10s

flyadeal holds 61 aircraft on order: 39 A321neos, 13 A320neos and 10 A330neos.

The group is also building freighter capacity. On July 6, 2026, Saudia signed an agreement with Boeing for four additional 777-200 freighters, on top of the four it already operates.

What is the delivery cadence?

The group's absorption challenge is already substantial before any new order. In December 2025, Saudia Chief Commercial Officer Arved von zur Muehlen told AeroTime the carrier expects to receive a new aircraft every month in 2026 and one aircraft every week in 2027.

That pace — roughly 12 arrivals in 2026 accelerating to more than 50 in 2027 — puts pressure on pilot recruitment, maintenance capacity and network planning across the group's Riyadh and Jeddah hubs.

An order finalized with first deliveries in 2031 would give Saudia a second wave of capacity timed to the back half of the Vision 2030 window, when the kingdom targets mass tourism volumes and Hajj-scale transit traffic through its airports.

Board approval and the subsequent RFP will determine whether the group commits to a single tranche or stages the purchase. Either way, a firm order of the scale previously reported would rank among the largest in the Gulf and sharpen competition between Boeing and Airbus for a customer that currently buys from both.