Flyadeal in 2024: Year of ongoing growth & milestones

Zawya

06-02-2025

No. 1 Globally For On-Time Performance; Tops 30 Million Passengers
Jeddah, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia – flyadeal, one of the youngest and fastest growing low-cost airlines in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East, secured yet another 12 months of solid achievements with record performances and significant milestones during 2024.
The airline flew almost 8 million passengers during 2024 and surpassed the cumulative total of 30 million in just seven years of operations; took delivery of its first-ever owned aircraft; placed an historic order for 51 new narrowbody jets; increased the number of wet-lease widebodies for Hajj and Umrah services; and beat global industry peers to top the On-Time Performance charts.
It was a year when flyadeal attained IATA's Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) – the industry's highest safety recognition – paving the way for membership of the International Air Transport Association; expanded its codeshare partnership with sister airline Saudia; inducted its 50th batch of cabin crew; and saw the graduation of its first cadet pilots under a new training programme.
The operational results and achievements set the scene for a busier year in 2025 which is expected to witness flyadeal's most aggressive expansion in its history.
Highlights for January – December 2024 with some comparisons over the same 12-month period in 2023.
Operational Milestones
Flew 7.9 million passengers in 2024 (up 14.5%).
Carried 33 million passengers since Day 1.
Capacity up 17%.
Fleet reached 36 aircraft (up from 33).
Operated 5 wet-leased widebody aircraft (up from 3).
Flew 96 routes, including Hajj flights (up 36%).
Carried 35,000 overseas Hajj pilgrims (up 35%).
Introduced Umrah flights for the first time.
Sister company Saudia codeshares on entire flyadeal network.
Ranked 1st globally for On-Time Performance in September recording 95.99 per cent departures punctuality.
Introduced Dubai World Central and Sohag in Egypt to international network.
Key Achievements
Placed an historic order for 51 Airbus A320neo family narrowbody aircraft.
flyadeal took delivery of the first of three fully owned aircraft.
Secured IATA's Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), industry's highest safety recognition.
Employee headcount (up 36 per cent).
50th cabin crew batch was inducted into flyadeal's training programme.
Graduation of first pilots under flyadeal's new cadet training programme.
Introduced first airline passenger membership programme in the Kingdom.
Achieved 99% customer transactions through flyadeal's Mobile App.
Steven Greenway, flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, said: '2024 proved to be a year of tremendous achievements and milestones that we at flyadeal can only be proud of thanks largely to our focus in the areas that matter the most for a young airline that is maturing fast.
'Delivering operational and customer excellence without compromising on safety have been our ongoing commitment. With the dedication of our employees across the organisation, together with our airport and industry partners going above and beyond to support the business, flyadeal accelerated its growth offering more choices for the travelling public and excelled in punctuality which saw us achieve number one global status for On-Time Performance for the first time.'
He added: 'More aircraft, more capacity and more passengers collectively mean more achievements. Milestones are there to be reached and we strive to create new ones as we evolve. We can only get better by building on our strengths as we look forward to even more incredible feats in 2025 having embarked on our biggest ever expansion drive.
'Over 25 new scheduled routes will be introduced to destinations in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and, for the first time, South Asia during the next 12 months; more dedicated Hajj and Umrah flights are set to be operated; additional wet-leased widebody aircraft to be inducted into our fleet; 10 million passengers to be flown for the first time in a calendar year; and our digital journey will continue with further pioneering and innovative digital solutions to enhance the customer experience.'
Greenway explained that flyadeal will continue to secure new partnerships with the travel agency community to promote the growing airline brand to a wider customer base, yet continue to focus on keeping unit costs under control to maintain its competitive fares advantage.
He said: 'And just as important is onboarding more employees across the business that will ensure we have the necessary resources to support our dynamic growth in the coming years. This will cover more cadet pilots graduating through our training programmes and campaigns to encourage more Saudi nationals to join our rapidly-growing airline.'
flyadeal currently operates domestic and international flights from bases in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. By 2030, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, flyadeal expects to triple the size of its business to serve more than 100 destinations with over 100 aircraft and have in excess of 4,000 employees.
-Ends-
About flyadeal
On 23 September 2017, National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, flyadeal began operations with its historic maiden flight from Jeddah to Riyadh. A pioneer and innovator, flyadeal was the first regional low-cost airline to be launched only across digital distribution channels. Being the sister airline of full-service national carrier Saudia — both under the umbrella ownership of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation (Saudia Group) — flyadeal was created for the price-conscious and tech-savvy consumer in mind in a market where 80 per cent of the Saudi population is aged less than 40 years and has at least two mobile phones.
flyadeal aims to stimulate travel, tourism and trade with its affordable, value for money everyday fares catering to leisure, religious, family and business travellers. Simplicity is key with an all-Economy Class cabin across flyadeal's narrowbody fleet. With the Kingdom undergoing dramatic transformation through its Vision 2030 economic diversification drive, aviation and tourism are among the many sectors earmarked for dynamic growth. Today, flyadeal is one of the youngest and fastest growing low-cost airlines in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Middle East, recognised for excellence in on-time performance that is consistently above the global industry average.
flyadeal operates a young fleet of Airbus A320 narrowbody aircraft flying from bases in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to destinations across Saudi Arabia with a growing international footprint in Europe, Middle East and North Africa. The airline has flown over 30 million passengers since its inaugural flight. In May 2024, flyadeal placed its biggest ever order for 51 aircraft – 12 A320neos and 39 larger A321neos – with a delivery schedule beginning in 2026. By 2030, flyadeal plans to operate hundreds of routes that will see its fleet and network triple in number to over 100 aircraft and destinations, respectively. flyadeal's aggressive expansion drive makes the rapidly growing airline one of the country's most desirable companies to work for.