Riyadh Air and Turkish Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Strategic Cooperation during the ICAO Air Services Negotiation Event (ICAN 2023) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The partnership aims to offer extensive benefits to travelers, enabling seamless connections through Istanbul Airport, reaching approximately 130 destinations. This collaboration is expected to significantly boost tourism, religious pilgrimages, and business travel, enhancing the overall customer experience.
The collaboration will also focus on integrating the airlines’ loyalty programs, allowing passengers to accumulate points or credits on code-shared services. Both airlines are actively exploring the possibility of establishing a broader loyalty agreement, covering their global networks.
Levent Konukcu, Director of Investment and Technology at Turkish Airlines, expressed his excitement about the partnership, highlighting its potential to strengthen ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air, emphasized the importance of the partnership in enhancing global connectivity and aligning with Turkish Airlines’ market-leading position.
“We are pleased to initiate our relationship with Riyadh Air, a new and promising player in the aviation industry. This Memorandum of Understanding is more than a collaboration; it is a bridge between Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, further strengthening our ties,” said Konukcu.
“It is also an opportunity to expand our reach and offer our customers more choices and convenience. We believe this partnership will not only benefit our customers but will also significantly contribute to the tourism and business sectors of both countries,” he added.
“Our close relationship will open seamless connectivity through the world-leading hub at Istanbul Airport to about 130 destinations globally, especially within Türkiye, Europe, and America, and will accelerate our network footprint through the market-leading, guest-focused, digitally savvy, and aligned airline brand that is Turkish Airlines,” said Tony Douglas.
