Riyadh Air is the new Saudi airline startup that’s launching flights in 2025. The people behind Riyadh Air have been making big promises about what we can expect from the airline, from the tech, to the onboard experience, to the employee uniforms.
For a long time, Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas has been promoting how the airline “won’t have cabin crew uniforms,” but rather Riyadh Air will “have cabin crew fashion, and wait till you see the fashion that we have.” Well, we’ve now seen the fashion that Riyadh Air has planned for its employees, and it’s definitely quite out there…
In this post:
Riyadh Air unveils bold new uniforms
Last night, Riyadh Air finally revealed its new employee uniforms, in an event that took place during Paris Couture Week. The carrier’s new uniforms are being created in partnership with Saudi fashion brand ASHI Studio, founded by Mohammed Ashi. Ashi became the first couturier from the Gulf region to join the Federation de la Haute Couture in Paris as a guest member in 2023.
Riyadh Air describes this as a “modern partnership, fusing high fashion and aviation elegance,” with “classic panache with bold, modern styling for a future-forward airline.” The airline also consistently calls this a “fashion line” rather than uniforms.
Here’s how the airline describes some of the design elements of the new uniforms:
- The styles strike a sharp look and are optimized for comfort both on the ground and in the sky
- The entire collection is defined by curved lines, sculptured silhouettes, and solid base colors
- A signature wing detail on the jacket takes cues from the aircraft’s livery design
Below you can see the reveal of the new uniforms, plus some background on how they were greated.
I like Riyadh Air’s new uniforms, I think!
I’m generally impressed by Riyadh Air’s new uniforms. They’re super progressive, and it’s fun to see that for an airline based in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the details in many of the pieces is impressive. Now, I do have a few thoughts, though…
First of all, these uniforms were really hyped, and I can’t help but wonder if they lived up to the hype. I mean, the uniforms are cool and all, but are they any more “out there” than Aegean Airlines’ new uniforms? I suppose what’s remarkable here is that Riyadh Air is an airline from Saudi Arabia, so perhaps it’s especially bold when you take that into account.
Next, whenever I talk about airline uniforms, I mention that the most important thing to me is that employees feel proud and comfortable when wearing them. Yes, these uniforms look great on models, but I can’t help but notice that they all don’t have more than a few percent body fat, if that.
Does this really represent the average employee that Riyadh Air will have? I trust the airline will hire a lot of attractive female foreigners. But I’m curious, will Riyadh Air have to hire a certain percentage of Saudi nationals to work at the airline, as is the case with other Saudi companies? If it’s like Saudia, then we’ll see a mix of Saudi men and foreign women.
If so, will Saudi men be wearing these uniforms? Because I can’t help but be curious if these uniforms would look as flattering on the people working at the airline as they do on models here.
Bottom line
After quite a wait, Riyadh Air has finally revealed its new employee uniforms, designed in partnership with Saudi fashion brand ASHI Studio. The uniforms are definitely some of the more fashionable ones we’ve seen from an airline, so it’s cool to see that from a company that’s based in Saudi Arabia.
However, I can’t help but wonder how these uniforms will look on real employees who are operating long haul flights, rather than models briefly walking down a runway at a fashion show.
What do you make of Riyadh Air’s new uniforms?
I hope for the flight staff to be wearing clothes and for them to look neat and professional. Other than that I do not choose an airline based on what they wear and do not really care.
They look like droids!!
I was going to say clone army but droids works too.
These are not the droids you are looking for.
Cue the western virtue signalers that come out whenever Saudi/Gulf airlines are mentioned.
The same virtue signalers who have no problem flying El Al while Israel is actively ethnically cleansing Palestine with the support of the US, UK, Germany, Canada et al.
This western supremacy over the rest of the world is diabolical to say the least.
Americans talking about LGBTQIA+ rights when they’ve had more than 600 new pieces of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation passed...
Cue the western virtue signalers that come out whenever Saudi/Gulf airlines are mentioned.
The same virtue signalers who have no problem flying El Al while Israel is actively ethnically cleansing Palestine with the support of the US, UK, Germany, Canada et al.
This western supremacy over the rest of the world is diabolical to say the least.
Americans talking about LGBTQIA+ rights when they’ve had more than 600 new pieces of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation passed last year alone will always make me chuckle. And it isn’t much better in the UK.
Look in the mirror and realize you have no moral high ground.
Ben, Did you not just post that you would be content moderating to weed out this type of political rhetoric and vitriol?
Awww another whitey having their feewings huwt because a brown person dared to speak up and tell the truth?
Joking aside, where’s that vitriol you talk about? Truth hurts, deal with it.
Are you one of those serving the Israeli Military instead of the USA. As noted by NY Times & WaPo, there are Hundreds if not Thousands in the US State & Defense Dept that do not agree with Israel doing ethnic cleansing.
Sisyphus, what an amazing criticism is this.
The hypocrites of the West, commonly found on OMAAT, love double standards.
I'm so glad that my community IRL isn't exposed to those horrible creatures.
They look kinda similar to the uniforms worn by commanders on the death star.
I like the 'Progress" being made there. people commenting negatively should appreciate the Suadi's efforts.
I don't appreciate the Saudi's efforts to silence Jamal Khashoggi.
@AJO
I also don't appreciate the US's efforts to silence Julian Assange and Edward Snowden.
Sigh.
Alitalia was the last great “fashionable” airline. Their flight crews from the 70’s to 2000’s always turned the most heads as they strutted through airports and crew hotels with pride.
These days, airlines like to market designer partnerships, but it’s all just mundane corporate mediocrity, mass produced with cheap and uncomfortable materials.
Seriously @Ben at times you baffle me.
What's 'bold' about those tasteless blankets they are straping on their bodies? Couture? Serioulsy? That term has also been stretched to the max here that its already out of the window to the next continent!
They look dull and and completely uninspired.
Attempting to seem modern, but comes off as cheap Star Trek knock offs.
You cannot go from Hijab to Total Nudity overnight like some you are used to!
I guess it looks great if you’re a stick figure but let’s look at the reality first and then the functionality of it - looks a bit out there for working on a jet
I respect Douglas a lot for his experience and what he did in his previous roles. But keep it real...you just know that only he will call the uniforms "fashion". Everyone else with a detectable pulse will keep calling it what it is....a "uniform". (Just keeping it 100.) But I do like the look of it!
Half the people in that video could be jailed in KSA for their "lifestyles."
And in some cases chopped off into small pieces and discarded like garbage.
But hey, it has excellent soft product in business class so we will fly.
Very good point. We talk a lot about “responsible sourcing” nowadays in our supply chains and I truly believe this should extend to how we spend our money on transportation.
How anybody in their right mind would take their cash to a Saudi state owned airline is completely beyond me. How Lucky would even set foot into ANY plane bound for SA puzzles me.
Does anybody remember the BI boycott and public outcry...
Very good point. We talk a lot about “responsible sourcing” nowadays in our supply chains and I truly believe this should extend to how we spend our money on transportation.
How anybody in their right mind would take their cash to a Saudi state owned airline is completely beyond me. How Lucky would even set foot into ANY plane bound for SA puzzles me.
Does anybody remember the BI boycott and public outcry over the (re-)introduction of Sharia law in Brunei in spring 2019?
THAT was a statement by the travel community, but maybe it was just fashionable at the time.
Today, we’d fly anything again if the soft product is nice and the price right.
Really?
Well you people have no problems with flying El Al, a flag carrier airline of Israel, the nation built by kicking out the original residents, as well as discriminating/killing/prisoning Palestinians to this day, so why not?
Very good point, indeed.
The idiot who whines on how we spend our money on transportation.
How the idiot questions anybody in their right mind would take their cash to a Saudi state owned company.
Does this idiot realize Saudi petroleum is everywhere, the cars you drive, planes you fly, ever the roads and runways they're on.
What do you think Saudi Aramco do, another TikTok influencer?