Saudi Arabia’s PIF-owned Riyadh Air is in talks with Boeing and Airbus for an order of up to 50 widebody aircraft, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the negotiations. The airline confirmed that it has put out a request for widebody aircraft in response to inquiries by the outlet.

What we know: The airline is looking to secure delivery slots, which are increasingly harder to get due to backlogs caused by production delays. The number of aircraft on order could fluctuate based on what the plane manufacturers can offer, with up to half of the order classified as non-firm options, sources said.

REMEMBER- We first heard about Riyadh Air’s intention to place a new wide-body jet order by 1H 2025 back in November. The PIF-owned startup airline is eyeing the Boeing 777X and Airbus A350-1000 to meet its long-haul needs, after having purchased 39 Boeing 787s and 60 Airbus A321neos in October, which are scheduled to arrive between 2H 2026 and 2030.

Riyadh Air aims to operate more than 200 aircraft, and aims to start formal talks for the new order in the next few months, with some long-range versions likely in the mix to support new routes and optimize load factors.

High hopes rife with setbacks: The airline said last month that it is pushing back its launch from early this year to 3Q 2025 after facing delays in its Boeing aircraft order. The delivery delay is expected to see the airline receive four Boeing 787 Dreamliners this year — half of the originally expected delivery.

REFRESHER- Turbulence in the aviation sector: Boeing was plagued by delivery delays and general supply chain disruptions in 2024, which analysts expect will persist well into this year. Lags in the aviation supply chain are impacting the sector at a global scale amid shortages of spare parts and issues with engine maintenance.

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