Riyadh Air is slowly revealing its operating model to the world. At the Dubai Airshow in November, the airline introduced its second aircraft livery with the showstopping entrance of Boeing’s 787 touching down at the opening of the show. The first livery debuted in a similarly impressive manner at the Paris air show in June.
Riyadh Air forms part of the economic transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia realised via Vision 2030 - the ambitious program to drive national economic transformation and achieve positive and sustainable change in the country. The mission has been entrusted to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is fast becoming a global investment powerhouse creating new sectors and opportunities that will shape the future global economy. Part of the Saudi Vision 2030 project involves enhancing tourism in the region and attracting more foreign visitors, which also includes repositioning Riyadh as a global hub for international air transportation.
By 2030, Saudi Arabia expects to welcome 120 million passengers every year, and by 2050 this number is targeted to reach 185 million passengers a year, as well as handling 3.5 million tonnes of cargo. Aircraft traffic in the Kingdom is expected to increase from 211,000 flights every year to more than one million every year.
Riyadh Air is fully funded by the PIF, and plans to launch commercial flights in the second quarter of 2025. Tony Douglas, the former chief executive of Etihad Airways, took over at the helm of the new airline earlier this year and has worked quickly to establish an industry-leading management team. Former colleague Adam Boukadida joined the airline as chief financial officer, with other former co-workers Ray Gammell joining at chief corporate officer, Vincent Coste as chief commercial officer and Peter Bellew, formerly of easyJet, Malaysia Airlines and Ryanair, also joined the team as chief operating officer.
As the top management team gradually takes shape, the fledging airline is committed to an ongoing teaser campaign as the team ramp up operations toward the target launch of commercial flights in 2025.
Despite having highly experienced management at the helm, starting a new, state-backed, full-service carrier remains a significant challenge and opportunity for the veteran team. “Building an airline from scratch is not an opportunity many people will experience,” said Boukadida in an interview with Airline Economics. “We are privileged to be a part of this new and extraordinary flagship project under the patronage and leadership of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud and from the Public Investment Fund.”
Since the official launch in March 2023, Boukadia shares that the airline has so far “welcomed nearly one million individual job applications on our official website”. The applications have been received from more than 180 nationalities, including Saudi Arabia and GCC neighbouring countries, with a third of applications for cabin crew, another third for corporate positions, with others for commercial and guest experience roles, operations and digital and innovation positions. “These numbers are a great testament to the amount of excitement that is associated with Riyadh Air,” says Boukadida, “people see the great potential in the company and in the Kingdom.”
Riyadh Air anticipates that it will create over 200,000 jobs directly and indirectly in the kingdom and across the globe. Boukadida shares that the airline has been supporting the creation of roles in the Kingdom to serve the airlines by partnering with local educational institutions such as Prince Sultan University and the Colleges of Excellence in Riyadh to develop simulation centres to train the pilots and cabin crew staff, as well as develop technical and mechanical training programs that will include male and female student candidates that will work with Riyadh Air in the future.
As a part of the National Aviation Strategy and the National Tourism Strategy, the Kingdom aims to welcome over 120 million visitors by 2030, and it is part of Riyadh Air’s mandate to facilitate that goal by providing guests to the Kingdom with the very best access and experience as they visit the country.
Riyadh Air’s network plans to serve over 100 destinations by 2030, with the goal to connect the capital of Riyadh to the world and the world to Riyadh. Riyadh Air will operate from the King Khalid International Airport and then transition to the new King Salman airport once it is ready.
“With the capital city’s strategic location on the global map, Riyadh is located in a within six-to-eight hour proximity to many of the top major economic cities of the world,” says Boukadida. “With the current and upcoming projects that are being developed under the decree of Vision 2030 and the PIF lead projects, Saudi Arabia is quickly becoming one of the most attracting destinations in the region.” He points to the development of the ‘city of future’, Neom, the ultra-luxury resorts and entertainments areas such as the Red Sea Global, Qiddiyah, and the Kingdom’s living outdoor museum, Al-Ula.
Alongside its goal to quickly expand its network to connect the Kingdom to the rest of the world, creating a hub for international air travel, Riyadh Air also has ambitions to become a digital native airline, pioneering new technologies. “The entire guest experience – from booking to arrival of destination – will feature state-of-the-art technology, facilitating seamless travel with an authentic, warm Saudi hospitality at its core,” says Boukadida.
There will be no first-class seats on Riyadh Air, which will instead feature business, premium and economy seats that the airline says will have “unique touches and one of the best in-flight entertainment systems in the industry” with an unparalleled level of attention to detail in its guest experience offering.
Riyadh Air’s first major widebody fleet order was announced on March 21, only a week after the airline’s official launch to the public on March 13. The order was made for 39 confirmed Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 aircraft with 33 optional aircraft. The airline is currently running a narrowbody fleet competition and says that it is “nearing the final decision which will be announced in due course”.
In terms of financing its new deliveries, Boukadida states that Riyadh Air will be “looking at a diverse pool of strategic relationships to support our growth and our balance sheet”.
Riyadh Air is following a comprehensive timeline that sets out operational milestones, including the maiden flight which is planned for the second quarter of 2025.