RIYADH Jan 4: Saudi Arabian airline—Al Saudia-- is negotiating one of the largest airplanes deal in recent years, industry and media said on Thursday. According to reports Al-Saudia is in negotiations with Boeing and Airbus to buy aeroplanes worth up to $12 billion.

The purchase of around 60 planes will bolster the current Saudi fleet of 139.

According to anonymous sources quoted in the western media, the deal will take time to be finalised, as "it's going to be a huge order, in excess of 60 planes."

A western source quoted in the report confirmed the ongoing negotiations on the issue and said probably the Saudis would split the order between the two western airplane makers.Civil aviation and major capital expenditure at Saudi Airlines come under the control of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, who is also the defence minister.

Last November, Khaled al-Mulhim, director general of Saudi national carrier warned the number of visitors to the kingdom may triple from a current 3.5 million over the next 10 years as increased number of Muslims visit Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage to Mecca. This will impact on passenger numbers, which will grow by 15 per cent annually, more than the current fleet can handle.

Al-Mulhim is reportedly already taking emergency measures by leasing aircraft and using long-haul planes for short-haul flights to provide extra capacity.

The Saudis’ last major aircraft order was for 61 Boeing aircraft in 1995, which included several 747s delivered over a four-year period. In 2005, it bought 15 66-seat Embraer planes from Brazil for $400 million.

The Saudi order will be one of the biggest of 2007, at par with the 70 737s Ryanair bought from Boeing in 2002. In October last year, Airbus signed an agreement to sell 150 A320s to China in a deal worth between $53 million and $82 million a plane.

The delivery of the new planes is not expected to come in time for the proposed flotation of the Saudi airline in 2008.

As part of the float preparations, Saudi Arabian airline is currently auctioning stakes in five of its divisions. This started with catering, while cargo, ground handling, maintenance and training will follow in the first half of this year.