
Riyadh Air eyes opportunities in India
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Saudi Arabia's upcoming second national airline, Riyadh Air, is expected to start operations in India in 2026. According to Tony Douglas, chief executive officer (CEO) of Riyadh Air, the airline is open to partnering with Indian airlines like Air India and IndiGo and Indian information technology (IT) companies for its digital infrastructure.
Riyadh Air plans to start recruitment drives for cabin crew in India this year. Riyadh Air has placed an order for over 130 aircraft with Boeing and Airbus. The airline will have a fleet which will include a mix of Boeing 787-9 aircraft and Airbus A321NEO.
The airline is currently in discussions with both OEMs for a widebody aircraft, either an Airbus A350-1000 or Boeing 777-9X. Edited excerpts: We're super excited to connect the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with all the key geographies around the world. Looking at the strong economic and political ties between both governments, India is a very important market.
There has been a 50% jump in leisure tourism to Saudi Arabia from India between 2023-2024, and this gives a sense of the demand. Realistically, we will be starting operating in India in 2026 as we aim to launch the airline in the coming few months in the current calendar year. Overall by 2030, we aim to fly to 100 destinations across the globe.
But everything depends on deliveries by Boeing and Airbus. We'll be receiving new aircraft from the end of this year, and we just can't wait to serve the Indian public. Also Read | Riyadh Air CEO says Indian subcontinent is ‘super important’, exploring tie-ups It might sound rather strange, but we're actually not here to compete with anybody, we're not here to steal the market from anybody else.
Read on livemint.com