Riyadh Air
طيران الرياض
ṭayaran ar-Riyaḍ

IATA ICAO Call sign RX[1] RXI RIYADH AIR
Founded	12 March 2023; 20 months ago (2023-03-12)
Commenced operations	2025 (planned)
Hubs	King Khalid International Airport
Parent company	Public Investment Fund
Headquarters	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Key people	Yasir Al-Rumayyan (Chairman)[2] Tony Douglas (CEO)
Founder	Mohammed bin Salman
Website	www.riyadhair.com

Riyadh Air (Arabic: طيران الرياض) is the second flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in Riyadh.^[3][4] The airline's main hub will be at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and will operate domestic and international scheduled flights to over 100 destinations in the Middle East and six continents. The fleet will consist of Airbus A321neo & Boeing 787 aircraft.^[5]

As of 2024, the airline is planning to operate its first commercial flights in 2025.^[6] It has cooperation agreements with SkyTeam members Delta Air Lines,^[7] China Eastern Airlines^[8] and Saudia,^[9] and Star Alliance members Turkish Airlines,^[10] Singapore Airlines,^[11]Air China,^[12] and Egyptair,^[13] respectively.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Riyadh Air will be owned by the country's Public Investment Fund (PIF), with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, serving as its chairman. Tony Douglas was appointed as its CEO. He previously served as the CEO of UAE airline Etihad Airways from January 2018 until October 2022.^[14] Riyadh Air is expected to add $20 billion to non-oil GDP growth, and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.

On 12 March 2023, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, formally announced the establishment of Riyadh Air, the country's newest national airline.^[15][16] Two days later, it was announced that the airline had ordered 39 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, with options for 33 more aircraft.^[17][18]

Riyadh Air unveiled its first livery on 4 June 2023. The livery was painted on a Boeing 787-9, although this aircraft was owned by Boeing and will not enter the Riyadh Air fleet.^[19] On the same day, it received its airline designator code "RX" from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) at the World Air Transport Summit, which took place in Istanbul.^[20] On 12 June 2023, Boeing delivered the first aircraft to the airline's fleet.^[21] On 14 June 2023, the airline was granted its Passenger Air Transport Economic License by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), which is required for the airline to begin commercial operations.^[22] On 21 June 2023, at the Paris Air Show, Riyadh Air signed an agreement for 90 GE Aerospace's GEnx-1B engines to power its future fleet of 39 Boeing 787-9 aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

On 9 July 2024, Riyadh Air signed a memorandum of understanding with Delta Air Lines, a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance.^[23] Under the terms of the memorandum, the two airlines would establish a basis for future flight codesharing and alignment of the customer service and frequent-flier program experiences.^[24]

On 30 October 2024, Riyadh Air confirmed an order of 60 Airbus A321neo.^[25]

On 10 August 2023, Riyadh Air became the main shirt sponsor of Spanish La Liga club Atlético de Madrid.^[26] On 16 August 2024, Riyadh Air became the official airline of CONCACAF, the association football confederation of North America.^[27] On 9 October 2024, Riyadh Air expanded its sponsorship, becoming the stadium naming partner of Atlético de Madrid's Metropolitano Stadium to Riyadh Air Metropolitano.^[28]

Riyadh Air will start flight operations in spring 2025 with a regional network, which shall expand immediately to all global regions.

Co-operation with other airlines shall extend the entire network in several global regions. MoUs are signed with

• Air China^[29]
• China Eastern Airlines^[30]
• Delta Air Lines^[31]
• Egyptair^[32]
• Singapore Airlines^[33]
• Virgin Atlantic^[34]

• List of airlines of Saudi Arabia
• List of Saudi Vision 2030 Projects