Riyadh Air

Riyadh Air
طيران الرياض
ṭayaran ar-Riyaḍ
IATA ICAO Callsign
RX[1] RXI RIYADH AIR
Founded12 March 2023; 13 months ago (2023-03-12)
HubsKing Khalid International Airport
Destinations0
Parent company
HeadquartersRiyadh, Saudi Arabia
Key people
FounderMohammed bin Salman
Websitewww.riyadhair.com

Riyadh Air (Arabic: طيران الرياض) is a planned second flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Riyadh.[3][4] The airline's main hub will be at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and will operate domestic and international scheduled flights to over 100 different destinations in the Middle East and six continents. The first flight will be to Kuwait. The fleet will consist of Boeing 787 aircraft.[5]

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Riyadh Air will be owned by the country's Public Investment Fund (PIF), with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, serving as its chairman. Tony Douglas was appointed as its CEO. He previously served as the CEO of UAE airline Etihad Airways from January 2018 until October 2022.[6] Riyadh Air 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 livery was painted on its 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 its Passenger Air Transport Economic License by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), which is required 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 fleet
Aircraft In
service 		Orders Passengers Notes
Boeing 787-9 — 39 TBA Order with 33 options.[16]
Total — 39
Riyadh Air Boeing 787-9 at Dubai Airshow 2023

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Klisauskaite, Vyte (4 June 2023). "Riyadh Air Is Prescribed RX Designator By IATA". Simple Flying. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. 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. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  3. ^ Bhoyrul, Anil (1 September 2022). "Exclusive: Saudi Arabia to launch new airline 'RIA' with $30bn war chest to rival Emirates". Arabian Business. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024.
  4. ^ "HRH Crown Prince Announces "Riyadh Air"". Saudi Press Agency. 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024.
  5. ^ Schlappig, Ben (14 March 2023). "Startup Riyadh Air Orders Up To 72 Boeing 787s". One Mile at a Time. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Saudi Crown Prince announces new national airline". Khaleej Times. 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  7. ^ "HRH Crown Prince Announces "Riyadh Air" New National Carrier to Further Expand Saudi Aviation Ecosystem Locally and Globally". Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund. 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  8. ^ Maher, Hatem; Gebaly, Muhammad Al (12 March 2023). Lawson, Hugh (ed.). "Saudi Arabia launches new national airline". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 August 2023.
  9. ^ Dudley, Dominic. "Riyadh Sets Out Fleet Plans For New Airline To Rival Emirates And Qatar". Forbes. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  10. ^ Rahman, Saifur (15 March 2023). "Riyadh Air orders 72 Boeings worth $17b". Arabian Post. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Air unveils airline's first plane". Arabian Business. 5 June 2023. Archived from the original on 14 October 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. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  13. ^ "GACA grants Riyadh Air economic license". Zawya. 14 June 2023. Archived from the original on 16 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. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Riyadh Air, Atlético de Madrid's new main sponsor". Atlético de Madrid. 10 August 2023. Archived from the original on 11 October 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. Archived from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
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