# Riyadh Air

Riyadh Air is the second flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Riyadh. 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 destinations in the Middle East and six continents. The fleet will consist of 60 Airbus A321neo and 72 Boeing 787 aircraft.
As of 2024, the airline is planning to operate its first commercial flights in 2025. It has cooperation agreements with SkyTeam members Delta Air Lines, China Eastern Airlines, Saudia and Virgin Atlantic and Star Alliance members Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines,Air China, and Egyptair, respectively.
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, is its chairman. Tony Douglas was appointed as its CEO. He was the CEO of UAE airline Etihad Airways from January 2018 until October 2022. Riyadh Air is expected to add US$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. Two days later, it was announced that the airline had ordered 39 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, with options for 33 more aircraft.
Riyadh Air unveiled its first livery on 4 June 2023. The livery was painted on a Boeing 787-9, although this aircraft was owned by Boeing and will not enter the Riyadh Air fleet. 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. On 12 June 2023, Boeing delivered the first aircraft to the airline's fleet. 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. 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.
On 9 July 2024, Riyadh Air signed a memorandum of understanding with Delta Air Lines, a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance. Under the terms of the memorandum, the two airlines would establish a basis for future flight codesharing and alignment of the customer service and frequent-flier program experiences.
On 30 October 2024, Riyadh Air confirmed an order of 60 Airbus A321neo.

## Sponsorships

On 10 August 2023, Riyadh Air became the main shirt sponsor of Spanish La Liga club Atlético de Madrid. On 16 August 2024, Riyadh Air became the official airline of CONCACAF, the association football confederation of North America. On 9 October 2024, Riyadh Air expanded its sponsorship, becoming the stadium naming partner of Atlético de Madrid's Metropolitano Stadium to Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

## Destinations

Riyadh Air will start flight operations in spring 2025 with a regional network, which shall expand immediately to all global regions.
Co-operation with other airlines shall extend the entire network in several global regions. MoUs are signed with
* Air China
* China Eastern Airlines
* Delta Air Lines
* Egyptair
* Saudia
* Singapore Airlines
* Turkish Airlines,
* Virgin Atlantic

## Fleet

Riyadh Air fleet :
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers |
| Airbus A321neo | — | 60 | TBA |
| Boeing 787-9 | — | 72 | TBA |
| Total | — | 132 | |