Riyadh Air Celebrates First Anniversary with Major Milestones and Ambitious Plans

Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new world-class airline, is celebrating an extraordinary first anniversary following its historic inception on March 12, 2023. The airline, which aims to fly to 100 countries by 2030, has dominated industry conversations during its first year in operation, signing major agreements and partnerships in Saudi Arabia and worldwide.

The first anniversary comes as Riyadh Air accelerates its journey to take off in 2025. The airline aims to become the world’s most forward-thinking carrier, embracing the best sustainability practices, elevating air travel, and setting a new standard for reliability, comfort, and hospitality.

As a catalyst for the National Transport and Logistics Strategy and National Tourism Strategy, Riyadh Air contributes to Saudi Arabia’s broader economic diversification and job creation toward realizing Vision 2030 goals. The airline contributes to KSA’s non-oil GDP growth by USD 20 billion and directly and indirectly creates over 200,000 new jobs globally and locally.

Reflecting on a monumental first year, CEO Tony Douglas said, “2023 was a monumental year for Riyadh Air, and we’re immensely proud of the progress we’ve made in the last 12 months as we celebrate our first anniversary – but we’re only just getting started. This year is set to be an even bigger one for us, and we can’t wait to reveal more as we continue to accelerate towards our maiden flight in 2025 as we become the most forward-thinking carrier in the skies. I thank our partners, stakeholders and team for supporting us in our vision to disrupt the aviation industry and deliver an airline experience like no other.”

Significant highlights during Riyadh Air’s first year included:

• Riyadh Air Inauguration and Major Wide Body Order: Following its inauguration in March 2023 by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Riyadh Air placed a significant aircraft order of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The airline also signed a deal for 90 GEnx engines to power its Boeing 787 fleet and was officially welcomed into the global aviation ecosystem with the unique ‘RX’ code.
• Riyadh Air Unveils Stunning Dual-Livery Designs in Paris and Dubai: In June, Riyadh Air unveiled its first livery with a flight over its home city of Riyadh, ahead of its official public debut at the 54th Paris Airshow. At the Dubai Airshow, Riyadh Air showcased the second of its spectacular dual-livery designs.
• Riyadh Air Signs Major Strategic Cooperation Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) with Saudia and Turkish Airlines: At the Dubai Airshow, Riyadh Air and Saudia announced a Strategic Cooperation MoU, marking a major milestone moment of collaborative strength in the KSA aviation ecosystem.

At the Dubai Airshow, Riyadh Air and Lucid Motors announced an innovative partnership aligned to a shared vision for the future of sustainable transportation. This commitment to exploring collaboration across marketing, commercial, and operational streams is a testament to Riyadh Air’s forward-thinking approach.

In its first year, Riyadh Air has signed several technology and engineering partnerships to unlock digital leadership in aviation sustainability, drive innovation, and develop cutting-edge technologies. Major agreements were agreed with Lufthansa Systems, IBM Consulting, Swiss-AS, CAE, Microsoft, Oracle, Sabre, and Accenture, enabling Riyadh Air to offer seamless travel experiences and build technical capabilities to ensure readiness for its first flight in 2025 and the year ended on a high note with groundbreaking partnerships with Adobe and IBM.

Riyadh Air also signed its first multi-year partnership with the leading Spanish football club, Atlético de Madrid, naming the airline the main and official airline partner.

Riyadh Air debuted at several industry events, contributing to discussions across the aviation and travel ecosystem with local, regional, and international stakeholders, partners, and peers. At the 56th Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) AGM and the Future Investment Initiative (FII), CEO Tony Douglas shared updates on Riyadh Air’s path to its first commercial flight and broader contribution to Vision 2030.

The establishment of Riyadh Air aligns with PIF’s mandate to unlock the capabilities of key sectors locally to drive the diversification of Saudi Arabia’s economy. The airline will support the Saudi Aviation Strategy’s broader vision and enable the National Tourism Strategy, contributing to KSA non-oil GDP growth by USD 20 billion and directly and indirectly creating over 200,000 new jobs globally and locally.

To mark the first anniversary, Riyadh Air is launching a “Riyadh Air Team” social media content campaign featuring reflections and perspectives from members of the Riyadh Air team on the airline’s journey so far. The content will be showcased across Riyadh Air’s social media channels over the coming weeks. This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in Riyadh Air’s journey to become the world’s most forward-thinking carrier.