RIYADH, 31 OCT – Saudi Arabia’s new national airline, Riyadh Air, plans to order a wide-body aircraft capable of carrying more than 300 passengers next year, its chief financial officer told AFP today.
It will be the third order for the airline, which was founded last year and plans to start its first flight in the summer of 2025.
“We will issue a third RFP for an ultra-wide-body aircraft with more than 300 seats, but it will only happen next year,” Adam Boukadida said at the Future Investment Forum in Riyadh, referring to a solicitation document for the proposal.
“It could be Boeing, it could be Airbus. At this time, we are delighted with the relationship we have established with these two major suppliers.”
Riyadh Air yesterday announced a multibillion-dollar deal to buy 60 Airbus A321neo small-body aircraft from Airbus.
It brings the firm’s total aircraft order to 132 after a deal struck last year with Boeing for 39 Dreamliner 787-9 wide-body planes, which seat fewer than 300 passengers, with an option for another 33 jets.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sees the aviation sector as a key component of his ‘Vision 2030’ reform agenda to modernize the petroleum-dependent country, with a target to more than triple annual traffic to 330 million passengers by the end of the decade.
Riyadh Air is expected to operate 100 routes by 2030 and more than 120 by 2035. However, the routes have not been disclosed. – AFP
