Riyadh Air
طيران الرياض
ṭayaran ar-Riyaḍ
IATA ICAO Callsign
RX[1] RXI RIYADH AIR
Founded12 March 2023 (2023-03-12)
HubsKing Khalid International Airport
Destinations0
Parent company
HeadquartersRiyadh, Saudi Arabia
Key people
FounderMohammed bin Salman
Websitewww.riyadhair.com

Riyadh Air[3] (Arabic: طيران الرياض) is a planned second flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Riyadh, its capital.[4] The airline's main operational base will be at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The airline is planning to be the largest in the Middle East in terms of revenue. It will operate domestic and international scheduled flights to over 100 different destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, North America and Oceania. The current announced fleet will consist of Boeing 787 aircraft.[5]

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Riyadh Air will be a company owned by the country's Public Investment Fund (PIF), with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, serving as its chairman. Tony Douglas has been appointed as the CEO. He previously served as the CEO of UAE-based airline Etihad Airways from January 2018 until October 2022.[6] Riyadh Air is set to be a 'world-class airline', and is expected to add $20 billion to non-oil GDP growth, and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.

History

On 12 March 2023, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, formally announced the establishment of Riyadh Air, the country's newest national airline.[7][8] Two days later, it was announced that the airline had ordered 39 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, with options for 33 more aircraft.[9][10]

Riyadh Air 787-9. This aircraft was still using a Boeing registration.

Riyadh Air unveiled its first livery on 4 June 2023. The scheme was painted on its very first Boeing 787-9 aircraft.[11] On the same day, it received its airline designator code "RX" from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) at the World Air Transport Summit, which took place in Istanbul.[1] On 12 June 2023, the first aircraft was delivered to the airline's fleet by Boeing.[12] On 14 June 2023, the airline was granted the Passenger Air Transport Economic License by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), which is necessary for the airline to begin commercial operations.[13] On 21 June 2023, at the Paris Air Show, Riyadh Air signed an agreement for 90 GE Aerospace's GEnx-1B engines to power its future fleet of 39 Boeing 787-9 aircraft.[14]

In August 2023, Riyadh Air became the main shirt sponsor of Spanish La Liga club Atlético de Madrid. [15]

Fleet

Riyadh Air Boeing 787-9 at Dubai Airshow 2023
Riyadh Air fleet
Aircraft In
service		 Orders Passengers Notes
Boeing 787-9 — 39 TBA Order with 33 options.[16]
Total — 39

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Klisauskaite, Vyte (4 June 2023). "Riyadh Air Is Prescribed RX Designator By IATA". Simple Flying. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Bhoyrul, Anil, Amlot, Matthew (23 September 2022). "Etihad's Tony Douglas agrees to join new Saudi airline RIA". Arabian Business. Retrieved 22 November 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ "HRH Crown Prince Announces "Riyadh Air"".
  4. ↑ "Exclusive: Saudi Arabia to launch new airline 'RIA' with $30bn war chest to rival Emirates".
  5. ↑ "Report: Saudi Arabia's RIA To Place Huge Aircraft Order".
  6. ↑ Web Desk. "Saudi Crown Prince announces new national airline". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  7. ↑ "PIF - News Details | Public Investment Fund". www.pif.gov.sa. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  8. ↑ "Saudi Arabia launches new national airline". Reuters. 2023-03-12.
  9. ↑ Dudley, Dominic. "Riyadh Sets Out Fleet Plans For New Airline To Rival Emirates And Qatar". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  10. ↑ "Riyadh Air orders 72 Boeings worth $17b". Arabian Post. 2023-03-15. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  11. ↑ "Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Air unveils airline's first plane". Arabian Business. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  12. ↑ Singh, Marisha (12 June 2023). "Riyadh Air takes flight in Saudi skies ahead of air show debut: Watch". Gulf Business. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  13. ↑ "GACA grants Riyadh Air economic license". Zawya. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  14. ↑ Souza, Lukas (21 June 2023). "Riyadh Air Selects GEnx-1B Engines To Power Boeing 787 Fleet". Simple Flying. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Riyadh Air, Atlético de Madrid's new main sponsor". Atlético de Madrid. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "New Saudi Arabian Carrier Riyadh Air to Launch with All-Boeing Fleet of up to 72 787-9 Dreamliners". Boeing. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
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