Ending all speculations, the future competitor, of Emirates and Qatar Airways regionally, and likes of Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa Globally, Saudi Arabia's upcoming carrier Riyadh Air has clarified its fleet structure with the aanouncement of its latest order.
Meant for the regional connectivity mostly, Riyadh Air, the ambitious premium international carrier in making, has unveiled the new fleet structure and placed a firm order for 60 A321neo Family aircraft.
The agreement was signed at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) 8th Edition Conference in Riyadh, marking a significant milestone for Riyadh Air's debut next year.
The signing ceremony was attended by His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Chairman of Riyadh Air, Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air, Christian Scherer, Chief Executive Officer, Commercial Aircraft at Airbus and Benoit de Saint-Exupery, Executive Vice President Sales of the Commercial Aircraft business.
“This investment will not only enable us to support economic growth in the aviation industry, it will ensure Riyadh Air operates one of the most fuel efficient fleets. It’ll be instrumental in helping Saudi Arabia achieve its decarbonisation goals,” said Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas. “This deal strongly reinforces the positive economic impact of Saudi Arabia’s newest airline on both a global and local scale to facilitate the fast-growing Saudi aviation ecosystem.”
Christian Scherer, CEO of Commercial Aircraft at Airbus said:
“We are proud to welcome Riyadh Air as a new Airbus customer and partner. The latest generation A321neo aircraft will bring exceptional efficiency to the airline's operations, concrete contributions to its decarbonisation goals and comfort to its passengers. We look forward to working together to support the strong ambitions of Saudi aviation."
Worth mentioning here, the crown prince and de facto ruler of the Gulf kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman, sees aviation as a key component of his ambitious Vision 2030 reform programme, aimed at diversifying the economy of the world's largest oil exporter.
The kingdom has set itself high targets for diversifying its economy and reducing its dependence on oil, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into a plan called Vision 2030 initiated by the kingdom's de facto ruler Prince Mohammed.
In October last year, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) had announced some landmark reforms to help its aviation sector boost competitiveness, attract investors and increase transparency as part of a transformation plan that aims to attract $100 billion in private and public investments by 2030.
Owned by the kingdom's wealthy Public Investment Fund (PIF), Riyadh Air had already announced last year an agreement to acquire 39 Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) aircraft, with options for 33 more aircraft.
In another development, King Salman International Airport Development Company (KSIADC) has now hired experts in Foster & Partners, Jacobs Engineering, Mace, and Nera to design for the job and they will build the 57 km2, six-runway airport development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In November 2022, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister HRH Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud had made an announcement on the plans to transform Riyadh airport into a massive aviation hub with six parallel runways and designed to accommodate up to 120 million travellers by 2030.
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