The local National Air Services (NAS) and the UK's EasyJet are in talks to bring the budget brand to the Gulf. A final decision is not expected until early next year, an easyJet spokesperson confirmed to MEED on 11 December.

EasyJet said in August that it was evaluating an opportunity to franchise its brand to NAS. NAS was awarded the country's first private airline licence in early December, breaking the 60-year monopoly of state-owned Saudi Arabian Airlines.

NAS aims to begin services from its operating hub in Riyadh during the first quarter of 2007. The new airline must cover 22 airports within the first year of operations. The remaining five airports will be served by late 2008. The airline will initially operate five aircraft likely to be Airbus A-320s with the fleet rising to 18 by 2010.

NAS already operates Al-Kayala Airlines, a private jet business, and Netjets, an aircraft fractional ownership and leasing programme. A NAS spokesperson said the company would invest $2,000 million to buy 75 airplanes.

The NAS licence is one of two on offer. A decision for the licence to operate out of Dammam will be made within 45 days. Five local groups are left in the running (MEED 25:8:06).