In a development that should surprise no one, ambitious Saudi Arabian airline startup Riyadh Air won’t be launching operations with the initially planned timeline.
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Riyadh Air pushes back launch by several months
Riyadh Air will be start service with brand new Boeing 787-9s, as the airline has ordered up to 72 of these. All along, the plan has been for Riyadh Air to take delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner in early 2025, and launch operations in the middle of 2025. However, that timeline has slipped.
The airline now anticipates taking delivery of its first 787 in Q3 2025, and then launching operations shortly thereafter. As an airline official explains:
“The arrival of the first B787-9 will allow operations to commence as soon as possible, and we remain in close contact with our colleagues at Boeing with the aim to receive delivery of a number of aircraft later this year. Major parts of the first aircraft are already prepared for final assembly and given well-known global supply chain challenges, we expect delivery to start in Q3, facilitating the start of operations soon after.”
Of course this delay shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given Boeing’s consistent delivery delays. Riyadh Air is hardly alone when it comes to having to alter its plans due to delayed aircraft. The difference between Riyadh Air and other carriers is that the airline is fully reliant on this to be able to commence operations, rather than just to grow.
Funny enough, Riyadh Air is actually flying a leased Boeing 787 in its full livery. However, this plane won’t ever operate passenger flights for the airline. The eight-year-old Dreamliner flew for Oman Air, but is temporarily at Riyadh Air, to help the airline work through its certification process.
Riyadh Air is reportedly making good progress with launching operations. The airline expects to receive its air operator certificate from regulators in “the coming weeks,” and has also hired dozens of flight attendants and pilots.
Ironically, Lufthansa has exactly the opposite problem of Riyadh Air. The airline has over a dozen 787 Dreamliners ready to be delivered, but can’t get the seats certified.
Riyadh Air’s cabins will be revealed in coming months
In the coming months, we should expect Riyadh Air to unveil the details of its passenger experience and cabins. Initially these details were supposed to be announced in the first half of 2024, but that timeline has been pushed back, along with the delivery of the first planes.
Riyadh Air’s 787s are expected to be in a three cabin layout, with business class, premium economy, and economy. The airline is promising to have industry leading products, though no further details have been revealed just yet. The airline is also promising to be a “digital native,” though we’ll see what exactly that entails.
Hopefully Riyadh Air doesn’t have issues with getting its new cabins certified, unlike the issues Lufthansa is dealing with. I was expecting that Riyadh Air would introduce its own custom products, though I now feel like the airline is probably choosing some “off the shelf” seats with minor customizations, to make the certification process a bit easier (which would probably be smart).
Bottom line
Riyadh Air has pushed back its launch from the middle of 2025 to late 2025, due to Boeing delivery delays. The company now expects to get its first aircraft in Q3 2025, and to start operations shortly thereafter. That assumes there are no additional delays, be it with the aircraft as such, or certification of the cabins.
I’m mighty curious to see what Riyadh Air has planned for the passenger experience, but we’ll likely have to wait a short while longer before those details are revealed.
When do you think Riyadh Air will actually launch operations?
After your recent ordeal with Egypt I'd be nervous with writing anything less than steller after actually experiencing this airline.
AWESOME, so now we get a whole further year, and maybe even a few more liveries (on individual planes they'll never operate) of world-class advertising....
...from the "airline" that has never flown a single passenger nor announced a single route.
So, yet another Boeing own goal.
Riyadh Air should have ordered the A350.
If it’s a Boeing …. it ain’t going …. to be delivered.
If it's a BA .... it ain't going .... to be good.
I’ve held my tongue for a while on this but now’s the time. It makes me sick watching LGBTQ+ travel bloggers (like yourself and NonStopDan) go gaga over Riyadh Air. Have you considered ignoring them? Not giving them air?
Oh f#ck off already. People can fly what they want.
Unless you're willing to completely forgo oil, natural gas, and any petroleum-derived product, then you're just as complicit with "supporting Saudi Arabia" as anyone else.
Stop trying to control other people for your petty do-nothing brand of politics.
Yeah. Much easier to choose not to give publicity to a bigoted airline versus completely quit oil and petroleum products.
What you’ve given me, my friend, is called a “false equivalence”.
Take your false equivalence, and you can f*ck off. Or are you gonna bitch and moan about my “petty do-nothing brand of politics”? As compared to yours? Yours that will fawn over Ben’s travels but sell out his rights so you can save $0.25 at the gas pump?
Really hope they don't join Skyteam even though they've partnered with members.
Saudia is already a SkyTeam member. Riyadh Air may join another alliance. But since these two airlines (Saudia and Riyadh Air) are owned by the same government (unlike Emirates and Eithad), I don't see them competing against each other. So there are possibilities that Riyadh Air may join SkyTeam since they are teaming up with SkyTeam member airlines. Delta will also launch flights to Riyadh.
.......Tim Dunn can enlighten us more on that.
Heh, looks like "the world's leading premium airline" will just have to wait some more for its ME partnership...
I can only imagine how confused one of our regular chatBot trolls must be about this.
On the one hand, Delta's work with Riyadh Air is going to be like NOTHING ever seen before simply because.... well, Delta.
On the other hand... they're delayed due to the 787 when they clearly should've listened to Delta and purchased the A350 or else end up like United...
oh vey
All jokes aside, I'm shocked that they've put all their (widebody) eggs in one basket, considering what a basket-case Boeing has recently been.
Bet Airbus would've loveeed to sell them a bunch of A330Ns, which would've been perfectly competitive to at least get a regional MidEast/India/Africa/European operation going.
Could've, should've, would've.... but still very surprising that we didn't see a split...
All jokes aside, I'm shocked that they've put all their (widebody) eggs in one basket, considering what a basket-case Boeing has recently been.
Bet Airbus would've loveeed to sell them a bunch of A330Ns, which would've been perfectly competitive to at least get a regional MidEast/India/Africa/European operation going.
Could've, should've, would've.... but still very surprising that we didn't see a split widebody order here, in order to avoid the very (predictable) outcome that we're seeing now.
Feels like Riyadh Air is going to be a letdown. We don't even know anything about their planned network yet.
Starlux in comparison felt much more organized and exciting.
Obviously alcohol isn’r everything, but I feel like this airline is going to struggle to compete 8! The premium ranks with the Gulf competitors because alcohol will be forbidden in the air and on the ground.
Then again, they can probably afford to just burn money.