PARIS/DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia is in advanced negotiations to order almost 40 A350 jets from Europe’s Airbus as part of strategic efforts to launch a new airline and challenge heavyweight carriers in the Gulf, industry sources said.
If confirmed, the purchase by the sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), worth about $12 billion at list prices, could be announced as early as this week when Riyadh hosts a major forum, the Future Investment Initiative, the sources said.
It remained unclear whether Boeing would also seize part of a substantial shopping list for the new airline, which will be named RIA, the sources said. One source familiar with the negotiations cautioned that it was “not over yet.”
PIF has been negotiating to buy some 75 jets and another source said the kingdom was leaning toward the Boeing 787. Reports have said that the airline may also need narrow-body jets.
Neither Airbus nor Boeing had any comment. PIF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher and Yousef Saba; Editing by Mark Porter)