Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new flag carrier intends on taking on fierce competitors such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and others – but it will do so without first class suites.
Instead, Saudi carrier will forge ahead with what its CEO Tony Douglas has described as a ‘business plus’ proposition capable of taking on the likes of Qatar Airways’ Qsuite.
“We will offer business, premium economy and economy on our long-haul jets but not first,” Douglas tells The Telegraph.
Douglas’ confirmation that Riyadh Air will be a ‘first-free zone’ comes the same week that Qatar Airways announced they had scrapped plans for a handful of first class suites on the Boeing 777x.
“We don’t want to put first class in the aeroplanes because it is very expensive real estate,” Al Baker admitted while in attendance of the yearly International Air Transport Association (IATA) conference.
Besides which, he added, Qatar’s Qsuite business class “is superior to other airlines’ first class”.
Riyadh Air plans to serve over 100 destinations around the world by 2030, with Saudi Arabia's relatively central location between Asia, Africa and Europe making it an ideal hub for passengers jetting to and from all corners of the world.
A US$37 billion starting order has been made for 39 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and options for 33 more.
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Riyadh Air is part of the plan of the government to open up Saudi Arabia and boost its tourism industry to become one of the world’s most popular destinations, with 100 million visitors by 2030.
The carrier will operate in tandem with fellow state-owned airlines Saudia and the soon-to-launch Neom Airlines, which is expected to take wing in late 2024 or early 2025 and will have a narrower focus on serving the country’s new mega city ‘Neom’ on the Red Sea.
Riyadh Air intends creating more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs and add US$20 billion to Saudi’s non-oil growth.
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