Saudi Arabia’s government-backed Riyadh Air has set one of the most ambitious targets the aviation industry has ever seen: Start from nothing and become one of the world’s best and most luxe airlines, serving more than 100 destinations in little more than four years.
Thankfully, Riyadh Air has deep pockets to fund these huge aspirations. The airline is being bankrolled by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has been tasked by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to transform the Kingdom’s economy.
It is PIF that is behind even bigger power projects like NEOM, a vast megacity of the future in Saudi Arabia’s northern Tabuk region, and the luxury Red Sea resorts that are meant to turn the Kingdom into a huge playground for the ultra-rich.
Riyadh Air will be the world-class global airline bringing passengers to these new tourism mega projects. Or, at least, that’s the theory.
The airline currently only serves London Heathrow with flights that the public can’t buy tickets for. Riyadh Air explains this is all part of its launch plans – it’s so-called ‘pathway to perfect’ which will allow it to iron out any kinks before launching real commercial flights.
Of course, the bigger problem is that Riyadh Air is yet to take delivery of any of the brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliners that feature its own cabin interiors.
For now, Riyadh Air has just one aircraft – a leased second-hand 787 Dreamliner from fellow Gulf State Oman Air, which it deploys on flights between Riyadh and London to avoid losing landing slots at Heathrow Airport that it paid so much to acquire.
That’s not, though, the only potential problem on the horizon. If you believe the reporting, the PIF doesn’t have quite as much available cash as you might have thought, which could lead to a squeeze in new investments.
How that might affect big showcase projects like Riyadh Air remains to be seen, although it certainly raises the question of whether the carrier would be able to rely on receiving blank checks forever.
The New York Times claims the PIF is “actively restructuring its operations,” while financial projections for various investments are being reassessed.
PIF spokesperson Marwan Bakrali, however, points out that the fund is making long-term investments and they should be “judged over generations, not quarters.”
First announced in 2023, Riyadh Air didn’t want to start small or conservatively. Like so many projects bankrolled by the PIF, its ambitions were so much bigger.
Why use second-hand planes when you can buy a fleet of more than 72 brand new Boeing 787s, along with up to 50 Airbus A350-1000s and as many as 60 Airbus A321 single-aisle jets?
Riyadh Air is in a race to start competing against some of the biggest names in the airline industry, including regional behemoths like Emirates and Qatar Airways, which built their businesses over decades.
The question now, though, is whether Riyadh Air will be the next PIF investment to start reassessing its strategy?
According to some reports, the boss of the money pit that has become NEOM has already been fired, while questions remain about the viability of luxury Red Sea resorts that aren’t pulling in the tourists as had been hoped.
We should, at least, know more soon. Boeing should, at long last, start delivering the new Dreamliners to Riyadh Air and, if the timeline sticks, Riyadh Air will open ticket sales to the public and even launch proper commercial flights within the first three months of 2026.
