The globally renowned low-cost carrier in the Middle East

flynas, the Saudi national carrier, celebrates the 15th anniversary of its launch as the first low-cost airline in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Thursday as it has become the airline of choice for millions of travellers to and from the Kingdom, crowned with international awards as the best low-cost airline in the Middle East, and supported by its growing expansion plans, pioneering initiatives, and outstanding services to its guests.

Since its launch in 2007, the constant expansion has constituted a strategic goal for flynas, whether by establishing aviation services companies, building partnerships with other airlines, enhancing its fleet, or adding more and more domestic and international destinations, in line with the Kingdom’s vision 2030 and contributing to strengthening the Kingdom’s position as a regional and global center for air transport.

Flynas steps into its 16th year and has seven awards as the Best Low-Cost Airline in the Middle East from the World Travel Awards Festival, in addition to winning the Skytrax award for four years as the Best Low-Cost Airline in the Middle East and adding another award from Skytrax in 2021 for the most advanced airline in the East middle.

flynas has been keen to scale up and enhance its fleet over the years of its work. In its sixth year, it became the first airline in Saudi Arabia and the third in the Middle East to receive Airbus A320 aircraft, which introduced a complete electronic control system for the aircraft, confirming Flynn’s ambitions for growth and global competition.

In its tenth year, flynas signed an agreement with Airbus to purchase 120 new A320NEO aircraft at a list value of US$ 8.6 billion, confirming the company ambitions to enhance its fleet and add more domestic and international destinations in line with the Saudi civil aviation strategy to reach to more than 330 million passengers annually, and connect Saudi Arabia with more than 250 destinations in the world by 2030 as the Kingdom aims to attract 100 million tourists annually. Furthermore, in 2019, flynas signed a new deal with Airbus to purchase 20 of the latest A321XLR and A321LR aircraft, bringing the total value of the aircraft purchase to more than $10 billion.

flynas has forged strategic partnerships with regional companies such as Etihad Airways, EgyptAir, and other airlines allowing its guests to continue their travel to farther destinations on partner airline flights through codeshare agreements while providing the same service on flynas flights to the passengers of partner airlines.

Taking its pioneering initiatives to a new space with its programs to localize aviation jobs and empower women, flynas has provided the opportunity for Saudi women to join the Flight Attendants program and launched the Future Pilots Program, which led to 100% Saudization of the co-pilot job, to be the first Saudi national carrier to take these steps.

Flynas currently connects more than 70 domestic and international destinations, through its fleet of more than 34 aircraft, with more than 1,200 weekly flights, and has carried more than 55 million passengers since its launch.

Thanks to the upgrading of its fleet, the strengthening of partnerships, and its pioneering initiatives, flynas is entering its sixteenth year as one of the strengths for the development of the Saudi air transport sector system, thus enhancing its role in achieving the National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services that aims to bring the Kingdom to the fifth rank as a global Transit hub for air transport and to increase destinations connected to the Kingdom to more than 250 international destinations.