Embattled aircraft manufacturer Boeing lost out to European rival Airbus on the first day of the Paris Air Show on Monday after Riyadh Air announced it had reached an agreement for a firm order of 25 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft with options for double that.
The news does not, however, come as much of a surprise given that sources from within the Saudi government had indicated for several months that Airbus was leading the race to win a major widebody aircraft from Riyadh Air.
Bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s government-controlled Public Investment Fund (PIF), Riyadh Air is expected to launch commercial operations later this year with the ambitious task of transforming the Kingdom’s tourism industry.
Riyadh Air will launch with an initial fleet of 787-9 Dreamliners, 39 of which it ordered from Boeing in 2023, although it has been known for some time that with money being no object, the airline was already in the market for a new widebody aircraft order.
Chief executive Tony Douglas is believed to have pitted Boeing’s much-delayed 777X against the Airbus A350-1000. Securing delivery slots for new aircraft could have been a major factor in how Airbus won Riyadh Air’s business.
“Riyadh Air is making significant progress as we move towards our first flight later this year and agreeing this deal for up to 50 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft is an important statement of intent,” commented Douglas after the deal was announced.
Months away from even launching, Riyadh Air already has up to 182 aircraft on order, including 60 single-aisle A321 neo aircraft from Airbus, which was announced late last year.
Airbus won the order for Riyadh Air’s fleet of single-aisle aircraft despite only being able to offer the airline delivery slots starting in 2029.
How the A350-1000 compares to the Boeing 777-9
| Airbus A350 | Boeing 777-9 | |
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
| Capacity (two-class configuration) | 380 passengers | 426 passengers |
| Range | 9,000 nautical miles | 7,285 nautical miles |
| Speed | 561 miles per hour | 644 miles per hour |
| Length | 73.8 meters | 76.72 meters |
| Width | 5.61 meters | 5.96 meters |
| Engines | Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 | General Electric GE9X |
How much is this order worth?
How much is Riyadh Air’s Airbus A350-1000 order worth? Well, that’s the million-dollar question… or, in this case, the multi-billion-dollar question.
A few years ago, Airbus stopped publishing the list price for its aircraft for the simple reason that the list price is rarely what an airline pays after factoring in discounts and other incentives.
However, industry sources estimate that a new A350-1000 without any discounts applied is worth around $355 million.
Of course, Riyadh Air is unlikely to have paid this much per aircraft, but we can still safely assume that this is a multi-billion-dollar order.
When will Riyadh Air start flying the A350-1000?
Today’s announcement was short on details on when Riyadh Air expects to start taking delivery of its first A350-1000, although we do know that access to available delivery slots was a factor in the carrier choosing the aircraft over the Boeing 777X.
That being said, Airbus is still grappling with major delivery delays and these are anticipated to drag on for the next few years at least. By next year, Airbus hopes to increase production to ten new A350s per month, and that will increase further to 12 new airplanes per month by 2028.
Why will the A350-1000 be Riyadh Air’s ‘flagship’ aircraft
While Riyadh Air has been careful not to officially coin the A350-1000 as its ‘flagship’ aircraft, it’s a simple fact that the largest plane in an airline’s fleet is often considered its flagship.
In this case, unlike Riyadh’s Air’s upcoming Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the larger A350-1000 is also anticipated to be fitted out with a luxe First Class cabin, further solidifying its status as the flagship aircraft.
Could Boeing win a 777X order in the future with Riyadh Air?
Never say never; after all, Riyadh Air has self-proclaimed ambitions to expand rapidly with plans to serve as many as 100 destinations within just a few years.
There are plenty of international airlines with a varied mix of aircraft types in their fleet, each of which serves varying passenger demands on different routes, so its by no means unusual for a carrier to complement its A350 fleet with a 777 fleet.
That being said, Riyadh Air stated on Monday that it is specifically aiming to minimize the number of aircraft it operates – at least to start with.
This makes sense, given that Riyadh Air is a brand-new airline and undoubtedly has enough issues to deal with without adding the additional complexity of managing many different aircraft types.
