Saudi Arabia’s new airline Riyadh Air has ordered 34 more widebody planes from Boeing and Airbus. The airline made the announcement on Monday as it speeds up its expansion plans. The airline wants to fly to more than 100 destinations by 2030. Buying more aircraft is part of its plan to grow its global network.
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Riyadh Air is expanding quickly after launching several new flight routes since June. The airline is trying to build Riyadh into a major international aviation hub. The airline wants to compete with bigger Middle Eastern carriers by growing its international network. Riyadh Air has already received six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Reuters reported that the airline is currently flying to six cities.
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Bloomberg gave a more recent update, saying Riyadh Air has now started full-scale operations this month with seven Boeing 787 aircraft in its fleet. The airline now flies to nine cities, including Dubai and London. The airline is owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Riyadh Air is an important part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan, which aims to reduce the country’s dependence on oil and grow tourism, business and global connectivity.
The airline has said it wants to connect Riyadh with more than 100 destinations around the world before the end of this decade. Bloomberg said Riyadh Air had already placed a major Boeing order in 2023 for 39 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, along with options to buy 33 more aircraft. The airline has ordered more than 60 Airbus A321 narrowbody aircraft. Before Monday’s announcement, Riyadh Air had already placed firm orders for 25 Airbus A350 aircraft and also held purchase rights for 25 more.
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Riyadh Air will buy 28 more Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes. These aircraft come from options the airline had already secured in a 2023 deal, according to Reuters. Out of those 28 Boeing planes, 20 will now be upgraded to the larger Boeing 787-10 model instead of the earlier version.
The airline also confirmed the purchase of six Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. These were previously only purchase rights but have now become firm orders. After this deal, Riyadh Air’s total confirmed Airbus A350-1000 orders have increased to 31 aircraft. These aircraft deals are the first major orders announced at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow.
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The airline was originally expected to begin operations in early 2025. However, the launch was delayed because Boeing delivered aircraft later than expected and because of certification delays at the US Federal Aviation Administration, according to Bloomberg. Riyadh Air plans to start adding Airbus A320 aircraft to its fleet later this year as it continues expanding.
