Airbus leapfrogs Boeing at Farnborough with major Flynas order

Saudi Arabia’s Flynas agreed to an outline order for as many as 160 Airbus SE jets, vaulting the European planemaker ahead of its US rival as the Farnborough International Airshow concludes.

The discount airline will buy 75 single-aisle A320neo jets, as well as 15 A330neo widebody jets, Airbus said in a statement on Thursday. Flynas, an all-Airbus operator, said separately that it also has options for 55 A320neos and 15 A330s.

With the late-breaking deal, Airbus has sold twice as many jets as Boeing Co. at the expo outside of London, the aviation industry’s biggest event of the year. But the US planemaker’s dominance in the wide-body category helped it nearly keep pace in terms of dollar value, based on estimates from aviation consultant Ishka. 

The Flynas order is a shot in the arm for Airbus’s A330 model, which is enjoying a second wind because of early availability and its favorable economics as long haul travel rebounds from the lows of the pandemic. Bloomberg News reported earlier about the potential for a Flynas order. 

The carrier previously had 65 A320neos on order.

Order activity has been subdued at Farnborough after last year’s frenzy of post-Covid business, partly because backlogs for workhorse aircraft such as the A320neo and Boeing’s 737 Max now stretch beyond the end of the decade.