The first two of 72 brand-new Boeing 787 Dreamliners destined for the start-up full-service carrier Riyadh Air have arrived in Saudi Arabia after completing a near 15 hour flight from the Boeing delivery center in Everett, Washington state.
Created in 2023 as part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 project to diversify the country’s economy, Riyadh Air is a totally new airline that is planning an aggressive expansion in the coming years.
Within weeks of being created, Riyadh Air had already penned its first aircraft order with Boeing, making the 787 Dreamliner the backbone of its initial international launch, although start-up plans have been plagued with delays.
The airline had initially planned to launch commercial operations within just two years, although aircraft production delays at Boeing’s Dreamliner facility in Charleston, South Carolina, kept on pushing that timeline back.
Riyadh Air first intended to take delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner in late 2024, but the delivery was pushed to mid-2025, before being pushed back to late 2025.
A year and a half later than planned, however, Riyadh Air has finally received the keys for its first two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The handover took place at a ceremony at Boeing’s delivery center in Washington state before the planes started their ultra-long-haul flights to their permanent home in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“To see our very first custom-built 787 Dreamliner airplanes touch down in Riyadh is a historic moment for us, and a momentous day for Saudi aviation,” commented the airline’s chief executive, Tony Douglas, who was headhunted from Etihad Airways.
“I couldn’t be more excited or more confident about the future and the legacy we are creating. Not only are we building an airline, we are opening a new gateway to the world from the heart of the Kingdom.”
Riyadh Air’s business model, however, remains somewhat confused. From the outset, Douglas has insisted that Riyadh Air doesn’t intend to compete with Gulf super carriers like Emirates or Qatar Airways, who specalise in connecting East and West through their respective hubs in the Middle East.
Instead, Riyadh Air was to focus on point-to-point traffic, bringing visitors to Saudi Arabia and its myriad new luxury resorts and mega projects.
The two Boeing 787s will be used for test flights and crew training for the rest of June before being deployed on Riyadh Air’s first commercial passenger route between Riyadh and London Heathrow, which is set to commence on July 1.
Riyadh Air has been serving London Heathrow since last October, using a second-hand Boeing 787 Dreamliner that it has leased from Oman Air, but these flights haven’t been available to book by the general public.
The official reason for operating these near-empty flights is so that Riyadh Air can perfect its operation and on-board service, although the other reason is that the airline managed to acquire incredibly expensive landing and takeoff slots at London Heathrow before its first Dreamliners were ready.
Under the so-called ‘use it, or lose it’ rules, Riyadh Air was required to operate at least 80% of its slots or risk forfeiting them to another airline, given how in demand slots are at London Heathrow.
Along with the Dreamliners, Riyadh Air has also placed a firm order for 24 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, with options for 25 more, along with 60 single-aisle A321neo aircraft, which will be used for shorter-range routes.
