Riyadh Air is a new airline conceptualised to be based in Riyadh, KSA. It is part of the massive push for tourism that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is making as part of its Vision 2030 plan. Since then, the airline has ordered aircraft, revealed its livery, and participated in airshows, but the first commercial flight for the carrier is planned for summer 2025, which is about eight months from now.

Riyadh Air, the story so far

In the meantime, the carrier is signing agreements with other airlines for cooperation. Riyadh Air has already signed agreements with Singapore Airlines, EgyptAir, Air China, Delta and China Eastern. While the airline is not open to joining an alliance at the moment, it also wants to have a partner in the Indian subcontinent and in Europe.

In 2023, Riyadh Air placed its first aircraft order. The deal covered 39 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, with options for a further 33. Incumbent Saudia also placed a large order of Boeing widebody aircraft. The airline also recently borrowed a Boeing 787 from Saudia to conduct their proving flights to receive their Permit to operate an airline.

At the Dubai Airshow 2023, it was expected that Riyadh Air would place a narrowbody aircraft order as well. However, this never materialised, and today, almost 350 days after the Dubai Airshow 2023 has concluded, Airbus and Saudia announced the order.

Riyadh Air places a firm order for 60 A321neo jets

Riyadh Air today placed a firm order for 60 A321neo Family aircraft. The agreement was signed at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh. The signing ceremony was attended by His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Chairman of Riyadh Air, Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air, Christian Scherer, Chief Executive Officer, Commercial Aircraft at Airbus and Benoit de Saint-Exupery, Executive Vice President Sales of the Commercial Aircraft business.

The A321neo is the largest member of Airbus’ best-selling A320neo Family. To date more than 6,700 A321neo have been ordered by more than 90 customers across the globe. A split between the A321neo, the LR and the XLR variants was not announced. The timeline for delivery has also not been clarified so far. Airbus is currently mostly sold out through 2030, though it might not be surprising if they find a few slots here and there to accommodate a new customer.

Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas said,

This investment will not only enable us to support economic growth in the aviation industry, it will ensure Riyadh Air operates one of the most fuel efficient fleets. It’ll be instrumental in helping Saudi Arabia achieve its decarbonisation goals. This deal strongly reinforces the positive economic impact of Saudi Arabia’s newest airline on both a global and local scale to facilitate the fast-growing Saudi aviation ecosystem.

Christian Scherer, CEO of Commercial Aircraft at Airbus said,

We are proud to welcome Riyadh Air as a new Airbus customer and partner. The latest generation A321neo aircraft will bring exceptional efficiency to the airline’s operations, concrete contributions to its decarbonisation goals and comfort to its passengers. We look forward to working together to support the strong ambitions of Saudi aviation.

Bottomline

After sealing their first order of widebody aircraft with Boeing in 2023, for 39 787-9 aircraft, the airline has now selected the Airbus A321neo for its narrowbody operations. An order of 60 A321neos has been placed by Riyadh Air today with Airbus.

What do you make of the progress at Riyadh Air towards launch of operations?

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