Saudi Arabian Airlines, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia will become the first airline in the world to operate the new Airbus A330-300 Regional.

These popular fuel-efficient Airbus widebody and single-aisle aircraft will join Saudi Arabian Airlines’ existing Airbus fleet of twelve A330-300s and 50 A320 Family.

Passenger demand in Saudi Arabia is experiencing high growth both on domestic and regional routes. The new A330-300 Regional variant, specially designed for regional and domestic operations, is Airbus’ solution for markets with large populations and fast growing, concentrated air traffic flows. The A330-300 Regional is set to boost capacity on several of Saudi Arabian Airlines most in-demand routes, enabling the airline to better serve the Saudi Arabian and regional travelling public.

Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser Director General Saudi Arabian Airlines, said: “The A330-300 Regional’s unique flexibility, high capacity and operational capabilities will enable us to expand our domestic and regional network and better absorb growing passenger traffic. Introducing the A330-300 Regional in our current fleet is an ideal choice and follows our previous commitment to a family of aircraft which already successfully helped us achieve our ambitions,” he added.

“We salute Saudi Arabian Airlines for becoming the launch operator of the A330-300 Regional. We see a significant market opportunity for this exceptional aircraft, which is part of Airbus best-selling widebody Family. The A330 features a unique combination of unbeatable economics and fuel efficiency. Undoubtedly the A330-300 Regional will support Saudi Arabian Airlines to expand

its network in the region in the most efficient way by offering increased capacity and  world-class comfort,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers.

The A330-300 Regional is optimized to seat up to 400 passengers on missions up to 3,000 nm and offers significant cost savings through a reduced operational weight of around 200 tonnes. The reduction in fuel burn per seat and maintenance costs will result in an overall cost reduction by up to 26% compared with the today’s long-range A330-300. In addition, the A330 Regional benefits from the latest A350 XWB and A380 technologies.

In addition to the A330-300 Regional, Saudi Arabian Airlines has also chosen to grow its A320 Family fleet with more of the world’s most flexible, productive and comfortable single aisle aircraft on the market.

The A320 Family

The A320 Family is the world’s best-selling single aisle product line with more than 11,700 orders to date and more than 6,500 aircraft delivered. Thanks to its widest cabin, all members of the A320 Family offer the industry’s best level of comfort in all classes and Airbus’ 18” wide seats in economy as standard.

Airbus press release