Saudia's fleet currently consists of 166 aircraft. It has 43 Boeing 777-200Fs/200ERs/300ERs, 37 Airbus A320ceos, 34 A330-300s, 27 A321ceos/neos, 21 787-9s/787-10s, and four 747-400Fs. Air Atlanta Europe operates some 777s and all the 747s on its behalf. These findings are from the latest ch-aviation data.

Of the 166 aircraft, 158 are passenger-configured. Of these, 64 (41%) are narrowbodies. Given the low proportion of single-aisle equipment, it is not surprising that Saudia's schedule submission to Cirium Diio shows that its average seats per flight is a relatively high 225. With just 110 seats, one configuration of A320 sticks out like a sore thumb.

Saudia's 110-Seat A320s

The Saudi Arabian flag carrier has seven A320s with just 110 seats. In contrast, most airlines have ~150 seats in a two-class layout, reaching a maximum of 186 in an all-economy, lowest-seat-mile configuration. The SkyTeam member has a further 30 A320s in a still relatively low-capacity, 144-seat layout. This is its old A320 version.

Saudia's 110-seaters range from 13.3 years to 16 years; they are its oldest A320s. They are owned by the airline and paid off. Unlike new aircraft, they're very inexpensive in this sense. Having been refurbished, they have 20 fully flat seats in business class -- highly unusual for the A320 -- and 90 seats in economy. This is its new A320 config. Seatback IFE is in all classes, and Wi-Fi is available.

Where Saudia's 110-Seat A320s Will Fly In November

The map above indicates where Saudia's 110-seat A320s will be flown in November. Some 60% of flights will be to Europe, 39% will be domestic, and the remaining 1% will be to other Middle Eastern cities.

It has ten European routes during the examined winter month. Of these, six are from the higher-yielding Saudi capital, Riyadh. Three are from Jeddah, and -- most unusually -- one is from Neom Bay. Neom Bay is a highly expensive, ambitious, and controversial project on the Red Sea.

The 110-seater will have five to six daily takeoffs to Europe, with Riyadh to Rome being the most-served city pair (nine weekly). The most unusual market is unquestionably Neom Bay to London Gatwick. The low-capacty config began flying this route, covering 2,122 nautical miles (3,930 km) each way, in February. It is about the same distance as Sharm el-Sheikh to Gatwick.

Days

Neom Bay To Gatwick; Local Times

Gatwick To Neom Bay; Local Times

Thursdays, Sundays

SV103: 06:10-09:10

SV104: 11:30-20:25

Saudia previously flew the 787-9 from Neom Bay to Heathrow, before switching the route to Gatwick and downgauging the equipment to the A320. This was to help improve performance, while freeing up a valuable 787-9 and Heathrow slots for better use. Of course, profitability is not the real reason this market exists.

According to UK Civil Aviation Authority data for February to July 2025, Saudia's traffic Neom Bay-Gatwick figures grew monthly, from just 372 passengers in February to 1,172 in July. In total, it carried 4,321 passengers in those six months. However, as it had 8,800 seats for sale, it only filled 49% of available seats. The best month was July (59%). Clearly, it continues to do poorly in this one sense.

Moscow Has Just Welcomed Saudia

On October 10, Saudia took off from Riyadh to Moscow Sheremetyevo. If Aeroflot's SkyTeam membership were still active, it would connect two SkyTeam hubs. For greater publicity, the first round-trip service used the 357-seat 787-10. The retro-livered HZ-AR29 was used, which made it stand out more.

The 110-seat A320 is now deployed. Examples abound of when airlines began a new route with much bigger aircraft for promotional reasons, only to switch equipment thereafter. For example, Qatar Airways initially used the A380 to Atlanta, while Turkish Airlines' first round-trip to Seville was on the 777-300ER.

According to Flightradar24, the 13.3-year-old HZ-ASG was flown on Saudia's second departure to Sheremetyevo. Due to the A320's slower cruise speed, the Russia-bound service took 47 minutes longer than on the 787. Saudia became the second operator between Riyadh and Moscow. It joins flynas, which serves Vnukovo.

Just 110 Seats: Saudia's Unusually Very Low-Capacity Airbus A320s Even Fly To The UK