(Adds background)March 11 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is close to a deal to order Boeing commercial jets for the fleet of a new national airline, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. The aircraft order is valued at $35 billion, the report said, adding that the deal could be announced as soon as Sunday during an official launch of the national airline. The deal includes wide-body jets which are often used for long international flights, the report added. Boeing declined to comment and the Saudi PIF did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment on the report. (Reporting by Akanksha Khushi and Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; editing by Grant McCool, Franklin Paul and Paul Simao)

Source: Wall Street Journal March 11, 2023 23:17 UTC