Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier Flyadeal is "very close" to making a purchase decision on 50 narrow-body aircraft it plans to acquire.

"We are very close but no announcement [is] to be made yet," Flyadeal CEO, Con Corfiatis, tells MEED.

Flyadeal previously said it hoped to make a final decision before the end of 2018.

MEED understands Flyadeal is evaluating bids from US-based Boeing for the 737 Max aircraft and European plane manufacturer Airbus for the A329neo models.

Flyadeal is the low-cost arm of Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), the kingdom’s national carrier. It began operations in September last year.

It currently operates nine Airbus A320s between domestic destinations including Riyadh and Jeddah. The aircraft are leased from Dubai Aerospace Enterprises.

The overall plan aims to bring its fleet to 50 aircraft.

There are plans to list the carrier's shares on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), along with its parent company Saudia.

In November, privately-owned carrier SaudiGulf Airlines made an order for 10 Airbus A320/A321neo aircraft with an option to acquire 10 more.

The deal is worth $2.1bn, according to Samer Majali, SaudiGulf CEO.

Delivery is expected to commence in the second half of 2019, at a rate of eight new units a year.

SaudiGulf, which is a full-service carrier, began commercial operations in October 2016. The airline started with two daily flights between Dammam, its main hub, and Riyadh.