Paris Air Show 2023: what we learned from Riyadh Air’s briefing

Before the official start to the Paris Air Show 2023, Riyadh Air promoted a briefing to the media at the Hôtel de Crillon. The goal of the meeting was to officially introduce the recently-launched airline to the media in the run-up to the event, where the airline has a chalet.

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The event was largely a presentation of Saudi Arabia’s newest airline, followed by a Q&A session with its CEO Tony Douglas.

In the weeks following the presentation of the airline’s first livery — there will be two — Douglas said that the company’s plan is to tease something new every two months, as the airline prepares for its launch in 2025.

According to the executive, the reason of such a long take-off roll is to increase, as much a possible, the airline’s brand awareness.

Douglas addressed the potential issue of «friendly fire» with Saudia, which will also be owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According to the British businessman, the growth plans of the Saudi economy out of its oil dependency are enough to justify two separate projects.

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While Saudia will shift almost entirely to a base in Jeddah, he said, Riyadh Air will slowly take its place in the Riyadh market, in what Douglas described a close and organized relation.

Questions about the airline’s network were also made, and the executive said it is «not terribly difficult to figure [out]» which of the cities will be in sight initially for Riyadh Air, referring to large cities around the world.

While an initial order for widebodies — 39 Boeing 787-9s with options for another 33 — it was confirmed that the airline is also in negotiations for narrowbody aircraft.

The main advantage of starting from scratch, Douglas said, was getting rid of the legacy costs and legacy systems which, according to him, hinder airlines’ performances. Riyadh Air’s vision, he said, would be to improve the data it processes from its future customers, in order to improve service to each specific flyer to a level that is not done today.

In a chat with journalists after the Q&A, he compared it to what Spotify and Uber do today — where there is a different flow of content and offerings to each user.

Riyadh Air has a Boeing 787-9 in static display at the Paris Air Show 2023.