Saudia Group signed a sale-and-leaseback deal with state-owned lessor AviLease covering twenty A320-200Ns due to deliver to the group's low-cost carrier, flyadeal (F3, Jeddah International).

The parties did not disclose when the aircraft would deliver.

The ch-aviation fleets module shows that prior to this transaction, Saudia had twenty A321-200Ns and fifteen A321-200NY(XLR)s on firm order from Airbus for its mainline operations, and a further sixteen A320-200Ns earmarked for flyadeal. The LCC unit already operates fifteen A320-200Ns, of which fourteen are owned by the group, and one is leased from Avolon. The airline did not respond to ch-aviation's query about the identity of the 20 aircraft covered by the AviLease deal.

flyadeal also operates eleven A320-200s.

AviLease was incorporated in June 2022 by the Saudi sovereign Public Investment Fund. It added its first aircraft, also an A320-200N, in early November. HZ-NS54 (msn 11074) has been placed with flyadeal's direct competitor, flynas (XY, Riyadh), and is the first of 12 contracted by the carrier from the state-owned lessor.