Riyadh Air bets on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and orders up to 72 airplanes

Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier launched last weekend, today confirmed an order for 39 Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The airlines’s first order also includes an option to purchase an additional 33 aircraft.

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The company, owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), will be based in Riyadh, the country’s capital and largest city, from where it plans to offer services to «over 100 destinations globally».

Riyadh Air is part of a 100 billion dollars state initiative to boost the growth of the airline market in a region characterised by the presence of major carriers such as Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways

Riyadh Air bets on the 787 Dreamliner

Last October, Reuters reported that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was in advanced negotiations with Airbus to purchase up to forty A350 aircraft.

Last Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Public Investment Fund was close to finalising a deal to order Boeing commercial aircraft for the new airline’s fleet. However, at the time, no further details were known about the models under consideration.

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While it was initially reported that the order could be made official at the same time as the airline’s launch, the officialisation was postponed until today.

«By positioning the airline as both a global connector and a vehicle to drive tourist and business travel to Saudi Arabia, our new 787-9 airplanes will serve as a foundation for our worldwide operations, as we build the wider network and connect our guests to Saudi Arabia and many destinations around the world», said Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air.

«We are incredibly proud of our nearly eight decades of partnership to drive innovation and sustainable growth in Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector», commented Stan Deal, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. «Our agreement builds on that longstanding partnership and will further expand access to safe and sustainable commercial air travel for decades more», he added.