When it comes to aviation in Saudi Arabia, most of the talk lately has been about Riyadh Air, the well funded airline startup that’s expected to launch operations in 2025. Saudi Arabian flag carrier Saudia is hoping to regain some of the spotlight, with the announcement of a new brand identity and livery. Let’s go over the details…
In this post:
Saudia enters new era with full rebranding
Saudia has unveiled a rebranding, which is part of a wider strategic digital transformation plan. This is aimed at strengthening the carrier’s support for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, to bring 330 million annual visitors to the country by 2030.
Here’s how the carrier describes the rebranding (I mean, you can’t really paraphrase this kind of stuff without sounding like you’re on Saudi Arabia’s payroll, so let me just quote it):
The rebrand marks the beginning of a new era for Saudia, introducing innovative concepts in terms of customer services with a strong focus on digital aspects and enhancing the guest experience by celebrating Saudi culture. This transformation reinforces Saudia’s national identity as it reimagines all products and services to engage all five senses.
Guests can anticipate an authentic Saudi experience during their journey, showcasing the very best of Saudi Arabia and its rich culture. This includes a distinctive fragrance and sonic identity, locally inspired cuisine, all crafted by skilled Saudi craftsmen. This new identity mirrors Saudi Arabia’s welcoming spirit, leaving guests with a deep sense of the country’s warmth and hospitality, while promoting a deeper appreciation of Saudi culture for both nationals and visitors. The rebrand also encompasses new uniforms for cabin crew and ground staff.
I’ve gotta say, the below video about the rebranding is at least very well done…
Saudia’s new livery, logo, and brand colors
To start, Saudia has unveiled a completely new brand color identity, comprised of green, blue, and sand, representing Saudia’s aim to expand its fleet and destinations, and “emphasizing the Kingdom’s authenticity and deep-rooted values” (hmmm…).
Saudia has unveiled a new livery, which I think looks great. It’s funny, because the airline has been flying planes with this livery since 2021, and the claim at the time was that this was a retro livery to celebrate the carrier’s heritage. But nope, this is actually the carrier’s new livery, which is based on the carrier’s old livery. So what’s old is new again.
Speaking of the new livery, could someone fill me in on what plane this is? Is this the Airbus 787, or the Boeing A350?
Below you can find Saudia’s new logo, which just contains green and white.
Saudia’s new employee uniforms
In addition to a new livery and logo, the airline is also rolling out new uniforms for employees, including cabin crew. I think they look great — they’re modern yet classic. However, given that the new Saudia is so heavily reliant on the use of green, I find it interesting that the new uniforms are dark blue.
Saudia’s digital transformation
The above changes are all about branding, though when it comes to substance, Saudia claims that it’s undertaking a huge digital transformation, intended to enhance the digital experience for passengers.
The airline claims that it’s introducing generative artificial intelligence (AI) as a virtual assistant, named “SAUDIA.” By the end of the year, Saudia claims it will allow passengers to complete the entire booking process through this. I’m not sure what exactly that means or why anyone would want to use that compared to the current booking process, but that’s the claim…
The airline is a bit light on details regarding what this digital transformation will look like, though I imagine we’ll learn more over time.
My take on Saudia’s rebranding and “new era”
It’s a fascinating time for aviation in Saudi Arabia, as the country pours an unprecedented amount of money into expanding its tourism industry. It’s not often you see a country investing in two competing national airlines in this way. At first there was some confusion about what the introduction of Riyadh Air meant for the future of Saudia.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that going forward, Riyadh Air will be heavily focused on Riyadh, while Saudia will be heavily focused on Jeddah. It’s also evident that the introduction of Riyadh Air will only cause Saudia to try harder. We’ve repeatedly heard Riyadh Air executives say that the airline will have a heavy digital focus, and now that seems to be a priority for Saudia as well.
Symbolically, I do find it interesting that Saudi Arabia is claiming that it wants to modernize, yet Saudia is looking to the past for its rebrand. The airline is adopting the same design it had several decades ago, which doesn’t exactly reflect looking to the future.
As I’ve often said, I think that as Saudi Arabia continues to grow its tourism industry, the biggest challenge will be changing perceptions of foreigners about the country. Outside of religious tourism and Muslim travelers, Saudi Arabia doesn’t exactly have a great reputation, and people don’t view it the same as Dubai, for example.
If Saudi Arabia’s goal is to welcome hundreds of millions of visitors per year (including many non-religious tourists), some major changes need to happen. Can Saudi Arabia convince the public of the country’s “warmth and hospitality,” and “promote a deeper appreciation of Saudi culture?”
We’ll see what happns over the coming years, though there’s a lot of work that needs to be done…
Bottom line
Saudia has unveiled a rebranding, which includes a new livery, a new logo, and new brand colors. The airline is taking an interesting approach to the rebranding, as the new livery is the same as the one from many years ago, and the airline has been flying a plane with this livery for the past two years, though we assumed it was a retro livery.
It’s nice to see that Saudia is working on improving itself, as competition is always good for consumers. It remains to be seen how successfully Saudi Arabia’s focus on global tourism is, though.
What do you make of Saudia’s rebranding?
Actually the 77W is a retro livery since 2021, why they decided to bring it back on entire fleet with some tweaks is beyond comprehension, more so since the livery is linked to the worst accidents in SVs history, Tristar 1980 and 747 1996, and conservative Saudi Arabia, infact the original new livery unveiled in winter 1996 with Saudi Arabian full name was created in a rush to move away from the memory of the...
Actually the 77W is a retro livery since 2021, why they decided to bring it back on entire fleet with some tweaks is beyond comprehension, more so since the livery is linked to the worst accidents in SVs history, Tristar 1980 and 747 1996, and conservative Saudi Arabia, infact the original new livery unveiled in winter 1996 with Saudi Arabian full name was created in a rush to move away from the memory of the Delhi accident a few months earlier, and it was a great makeover even dropping green colour.
The current muted but more premium looking version is really good all thats needed is a vision to make the carrier as good as its rivals, but instead they have screwed it up,.. The livery was tweaked in late 2000s by a Singapore based firm who also did Saudias new interiors, same firm did Singapore Airlines new interiors back in mid-2000s by the way,, the turquoise accent removed from tail was reintroduced in the new uniforms, adding a splash of colour in the cabin. doubt the firm had anything to do with uniforms though.
Its like Saudia is deliberately made to look shoddy like back when they wore this livery from 1970s to 1996, so to make Riyadh Air shine, while Saudia will be delegated to role of flying pilgrims and labourers.
They could have used this modernised old logo and wordmarks on current livery , not on engines though and it would have worked too, why the complete change backwards, another JAL whc dropped its contemporary Arc of Sun livery for boring current old logo on Eurowhite look.
I personally would have preferred Saudia to completely move away from anything identifying it with old Saudi Arabia, the palm tree and swords logo in particular, going for a livery like Garuda Indonesia just using colours with Saudia wordmark in tandem on both sides of aircraft, i can picture current Garuda livery as that with Saudia name, what a refreshing change that wouldve been
On the current beige livery I would have liked a Continental Airlines logo had that not existed on CO livery, and a better font for Saudia wordkmark to complement it.
The old livery returning in new form is giving av-geeks orgasms, but to me its several steps back for Saudias brand image, the beige livery shouldve come out now as the country changes, not go back to what they had in conservative times, uniforms are good, things may improve in other areas but branding is messed, again it seems deliberate to make SV a pilgrim and labour class airline and to make Riyad Air be the new star of Saudi Arabia.
Until they serve alcohol there's no way I'm on their plane.
You can always sneak miniatures on carry-on , no ?
Unless there is a rule against it , yes ?
Well, alcohol is illegal in the country and you're either drinking alcohol on a dry airline, going through transit security with alcohol where it is illegal or smuggling alcohol into the country. So, I'd suggest that you enjoy their non-alcoholic beverages. I mean, really, you can't live without alcohol for 12 hours?
The ad is a tiresome drawn-out narration leading to the unveiling of the complete livery, but fails to capture an emotion or portray the culture, aside from given the two some lip service. Very robotic.
Who is going to maintain the fleet will it be only Saudi technicians?
My thoughts:
The most important requirement for an airline is customer service; which includes on time departure, pleasant boarding area with swift and professional handling of passengers and baggage and a comfortable and safe flight. The look of the livery on the aircraft skin is secondary importance to me, as my objective is to have a safe and comfortable flight to my destination, which are all that happens below and inside the skin. I...
My thoughts:
The most important requirement for an airline is customer service; which includes on time departure, pleasant boarding area with swift and professional handling of passengers and baggage and a comfortable and safe flight. The look of the livery on the aircraft skin is secondary importance to me, as my objective is to have a safe and comfortable flight to my destination, which are all that happens below and inside the skin. I have used Saudia and their hospitality, customer service and food is good.
For continuous success, Saudia should ensure the training given to the crews and how they execute it in their service to customers, is maintained at the most highest level at all time. That will guarantee customer satisfaction and success of Saudia.
Keep it up and wishing Saudia the best.
This looks terrible.
Its not exactly yhe same, howeve I did like the ble tail and swords with the cream upper body
Stripes on a plane look fresh these days - I like it purely from a livery perspective
The new livery is not new. In fact, it was the livery that was there for 26 years from the mid to late 1970s up until 1998. What they did was take that livery and tweaked it with modifications. The S in Saudia is capitalized, and the swords do not have handles. The stripes are also more brightly colored. I know this very well as I used to fly this airline as a kid when my parents were in KSA. Talk about old product in new packaging!
I recently visited Saudi Arabia for lengthy stays in Jeddah and Riyadh. I had worked in Jeddah for Saudia over 40 years ago and was amazed at the societal changes and population growth. Riyadh is now an architect’s paradise with numbers of amazing skyscrapers and an amazing financial district. Jeddah is renovating the old town Al Bilad neighborhood. I didn’t have a chance to see their new tourist facilites along the Red Sea, or the...
I recently visited Saudi Arabia for lengthy stays in Jeddah and Riyadh. I had worked in Jeddah for Saudia over 40 years ago and was amazed at the societal changes and population growth. Riyadh is now an architect’s paradise with numbers of amazing skyscrapers and an amazing financial district. Jeddah is renovating the old town Al Bilad neighborhood. I didn’t have a chance to see their new tourist facilites along the Red Sea, or the ancient ruins just over the border in Saudi Arabia that rival Jordon’s Petra complex. What hadn’t changed was the traditional Saudi Hospitality and I was made to feel very welcome. Saudia in flight service was superb, both professional and friendly.
I agree about Saudia's service. I recently flew them for the first time and had heard less than stellar things. The experience with mobile app was a nightmare. So I was prepared for disaster and it was most definitely not a disaster. Flying Saudia was a wonderful experience. And I was pleasantly surprised by my experience in the country as well.
Saudia has ditched the heavily veiled scarf around the head to a more stylized one like Etihad and Emirates. There was a time in the early 80s when the female FAs wore dressers and no covering of the head, as shown in the opening shot in the advertisement, the time of the Tri-stars. There was a number of FAs hired out of Karachi and I would see them fully attired this way in the more...
Saudia has ditched the heavily veiled scarf around the head to a more stylized one like Etihad and Emirates. There was a time in the early 80s when the female FAs wore dressers and no covering of the head, as shown in the opening shot in the advertisement, the time of the Tri-stars. There was a number of FAs hired out of Karachi and I would see them fully attired this way in the more liberal outfits than the ones the Saudi FAs wear today. Also their slogan at the time was "Saudia - Welcome to our world".
Nice to see Saudi Arabian Airlines go back to it's roots. And glad to see them back in Toronto soon, hopefully in this new livery, after their long absence. Was lucky to get their inaugural flight into and out of Toronto at the time.
This rebranding reminds me of when Royal Air Maroc introduced their special anniversary livery, which they decided they liked enough to repaint their entire fleet with that new branding. I'd had a feeling this would be a similar case once we started seeing a handful of A321neos coming off the production line with this livery. While it's a modernized version of their classic livery, I've gotta say it's extremely well done and that video introducing...
This rebranding reminds me of when Royal Air Maroc introduced their special anniversary livery, which they decided they liked enough to repaint their entire fleet with that new branding. I'd had a feeling this would be a similar case once we started seeing a handful of A321neos coming off the production line with this livery. While it's a modernized version of their classic livery, I've gotta say it's extremely well done and that video introducing the new livery is something else.
I don't like this Livery as it seems Retro... Too much of Green... Earlier Navy Blue Livery was just Awesome
I actually prefer the colors/Branding of what they were using.Using SAUDIA instead of Saudi Arabian would be fine but the white/blue/green combination is not appealing compared to the current.
Can jews fly on the plane? or are we still banned.
As jew, you are welcome. As journalist you should check yourself (in pieces in the alloted luggage allowance; may need to pay additional overweight fee if american, though let's face it most saudis who fly are obeast too).
I have to say the rebranding has been excellently done, particularly the new custom font with its ink traps and chisels. With so much hype, Air India could only produce a super-stretched custom font, while Saudia has done so much better with its type. The retro-inspired livery is certainly an example of an airline looking to its past to shape the future, and I dig it.
That’s not to say that AI did a bad...
I have to say the rebranding has been excellently done, particularly the new custom font with its ink traps and chisels. With so much hype, Air India could only produce a super-stretched custom font, while Saudia has done so much better with its type. The retro-inspired livery is certainly an example of an airline looking to its past to shape the future, and I dig it.
That’s not to say that AI did a bad job — I quite like the new colours and brand — but we’ll have to wait until December to see it in the flesh. More importantly, despite all the build-up for the last several months, AI has refused to change any part of its website or social media brand until the first A350 with the new livery comes on board, while SV has introduced the new brand from day one. Kudos are in order for Saudia!
I really liked the old livery. Always thought it was one of the nicest ones out there.
The new livery, with all green, seems to indicate that Saudia is being relegated to religious traffic, Hajj flights, etc. While Riyadh Air will be tasked with developing international tourism traffic.
I have ever been to that part of the world and would love to go to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. However, Saudi Arabia is not on my list.
I have been to Dubai more times than I care to remember. At least 30 times. Probably spent over half a year there. Of the 193 UN states which I would like to visit / revisit, the UAE must rank in the the bottom 10 or 15. Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries that would fall below UAE.
If UAE is in the bottom 10 or 15 and Saudi Arabia is lower, you must really love
Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo (RC and DRC), Iraq, Kiribati, Libya, Mali, North Korea, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen
That's over 15 and UAE is still in there?
Have you even travelled to more than 5 countries?
introducing alcohol ???? hips .... :-)
I would be interested in visiting Saudi Arabia, I’m sure the country has much to offer tourists and has a rich cultural history. However I agree with Roland Culé’s previous comments. Perfectly said.
If a country genuinely wants to grow tourism, getting rid of visas for (most) tourists would be a good start!
True, though it wasn't that long ago that they didn't even have a non-religious tourist visa!
They do now have an easily obtained tourist e-visa that covers nationals of a large number of countries. Apply online and generally receive the visa within 10minutes. In fact, from experience it’s now easier (or at least no more difficult) to get an e-visa to visit Saudi Arabia than it is to obtain an ESTA to visit the US.
"Is this a Airbus 787 or Boeing A350?"
Maybe it is a rendering of the Boeing 797, and Saudia is a customer for it! Looks like it was released a few years prematurely though :)
Honestly though, the 797 concept would work great for Saudia.
The first photo is an a350 the second is a 787.
They will not be the launch customer of 7777.
Quick, we better do something, the world is gradually relying less on our oil.
Riyadh Air will flood the market with cheap fares between Europe/North America and Asia/Pacific when they launch.
Plenty of travellers will leave their morals at home in exchange for a cheap price.
I assume the airline will offer free stopovers and that will get plenty of people to visit for the first time, even if only for 24 hours.
When I first saw Saudia's logo I glanced at it and thought it was a palm tree. Oh how nice. Then I realized it's actually two swords clashing. That's not a warm fuzzy feeling to me. Also, the prayer at the beginning of the flights is super creepy. I'm not an islamophobe. I respect all religious beliefs as long as they are rooted in compassion and love. I'm just saying as a westerner those two...
When I first saw Saudia's logo I glanced at it and thought it was a palm tree. Oh how nice. Then I realized it's actually two swords clashing. That's not a warm fuzzy feeling to me. Also, the prayer at the beginning of the flights is super creepy. I'm not an islamophobe. I respect all religious beliefs as long as they are rooted in compassion and love. I'm just saying as a westerner those two things were kinda jarring. The flights were pretty great tho. They must get very cheap gas because they run huge empty planes. Very easy to have a poor mans business class with 4 empty seats in the middle of the plane.
You (and I) probably aren't Saudia's target market. The airline will be going for locals, muslim faithfuls, pilgrims rather than westerners. Riyadh Air will be very different and most likely serving alcohol whereas SV will remain the traditional "with value" carrier. I think this retro look goes in that direction.
The prayer at the beginning is just a normal travel prayer, not sure how that is creepy.
It's a very deep voice with echos and reverb. It sounds like Jabba the Hutt in a Khole. Sorry, but it's creepy. There are some beautiful Muslim prayers/songs I've heard while traveling through Saudia Arabia, Oman, Egypt, Bahrain, etc. I respect the culture. But that prayer man....
The two swords are in the National emblem just like the eagle for US ...
When you're notorious for chopping peoples heads off with a sword or being dismembered on the personal orders on the crown prince, the situation is a bit different.
Ahhh, thanks for that bit
Thanks for this, I didn't know.
Yet why don't the same Westerner who find those two things jarring consider this normal.
The prayer or grace before dinner?
The eagle with 13 arrows in it's sharp talon?
Too much prejudice from all the propagandas?
Is this the Airbus 787, or the Boeing A350?
If I had to guess, it's very likely one of the early rendering of the 787-3 for JAL. Since it's all white, it's not too hard to put green stripes on it.
My thought exactly, I was looking to see if anyone else made the connection!
The shape of the vertical stabilizer was an early design for the 787, plus 787-3 was supposed to have blended winglets to better fit in smaller airport gates.
Enhancing the guest experience by celebrating Saudi culture, we will conduct beheadings in First Class and hand amputations in Coach.
And hangings in business
And stoning of women in the galley.
If we do dismember a passenger. One of our employees will greet your party wearing the said passenger’s clothes.
After looking through their new branding webpage. I just have to say meh.
Livery looks underwhelming and fails to portray a contemporary and modern Saudi. Regardless, the airline isn’t the reason that many do not want to go to Saudi.
Our tourist visit early this year was amazing, I kind of hope people don't visit so it stays quiet. Jeddah was a really fun place, I'd visit there again in a minute. The people were friendly and interested in taking with us
Hello Mr Prince,
Clever Burner attempt.
Some people just can't see beyond the Western propaganda.
Agree with @Matt, quickly visit before the Western tourists ruin everything.
Eh, Saudi Arabia is ok. There are some nice areas, yes, like the Red Sea coastline, Abha, Taif, etc. But as for the cities and culture itself, nothing that can't already get in Oman, the UAE, and Qatar.
Lot's of fun is a country that isn't open to different cultures, barely open to women, opposed to gays, alcohol, free thoughts/speech.
I'm sure the fun bit is leaving this place.
I'll agree that SV's videos are nice. A lot of PR fluff to make Saudi Arabia sound a lot more progressive than it really is.
Interesting timing for this announcement as Monday is the fifth anniversary of the dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi.
"Guests can anticipate an authentic Saudi experience during their journey..."
So, arrive with two hands, go home with one? Bonesaws?
No, thank you.
If you go there to steal, then you deserve it. Just respect their laws.
@Traveller You are referring to Jamal Khashoggi, I assume.
What’s more interesting to me is them announcing the return of JED-YYZ by calling it “our first direct flight”, as if it hadn’t existed before the diplomatic spat with Canada.
https://x.com/saudiairlinesen/status/1706707436352970964?s=46