Saudi startup airline Riyadh Air has confirmed that it will be re-entering negotiations with the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers for further widebody aircraft. The move comes as the carrier continues to build towards its goal of operating a fleet of more than 200 aircraft in the coming years.
The announcement comes just weeks after the Riyadh-based airline placed an order for 60 Airbus A321neo single-aisle aircraft at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) 8th Edition Conference in Saudi Arabia. The deal was confirmed on October 30, 2024, in a signing between Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air, and Christian Scherer, CEO of Commercial Aircraft at Airbus.
According to Douglas who was speaking with Reuters, Saudi Arabia’s newest carrier, which expects to receive its Air Operators Certificate in early 2025, is currently evaluating both the Boeing 777X and the Airbus A350-1000 widebodied twin-engine jets and aims to finalize a new deal involving either of these types in the first or second quarter of 2025. Talks regarding the new aircraft are due to commence “in the next two months” according to Douglas.
In March 2023, Riyadh Air placed an initial order for 39 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with options for another 33 as part of a wider deal also involving national carrier Saudia, a sister airline to Riyadh Air. While Douglas declined to comment on the size of any new order to be made in 2025, he reiterated that the airline ultimately aims to operate more than 200 aircraft.
Despite not having yet flown a single revenue service in its own, right, Riyadh Air is already garnering a great deal of interest and clout from across the commercial aviation world. This is due partly through its relationship with Saudia, but also to the role it has been earmarked to play in the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia’s ambitious aspirations to attract millions of visitors annually as part of its ‘Vision 2030’ project.
A good example of this is the recent Airbus order. Despite the long lead times for most new aircraft purchases, Douglas said that Riyadh Air’s A321neos would be delivered between the second half of 2026 and the end of 2030. This has been achieved by leveraging its strength in the market and working with Airbus to secure earlier delivery slots that might otherwise have been available to it.
According to Reuters, industry sources said the aircraft had become available as part of a complex financing deal driven by the availability of future delivery slots originally assigned to Malaysia-based Capital A and its low-cost airline Air Asia, which has been restructuring its order book in recent months.
“That puts us right back in the standard order window with Airbus, so the door is wide open,” Douglas said, while also hinting at further aircraft purchases.
In terms of the widebody order, both the Airbus A350-1000 and the Boeing 777X would work for Riyadh Air. While the A350 would share a great deal of commonality with the incoming A321neos which would drive savings on crew training and other synergies, the Boeing 777X would be a continuation of the carrier’s record with Boeing widebodies, following on from the 787s. Time will tell which of the two the carrier opts for as it seeks to reach that 200-aircraft mark.
Do you have a sense for which type of aircraft Riyadh Air will order next? If so, what do you think and why? Tell us more in the comments section below.