As expected Riyadh Air didn’t take long at all to take action and announce new routes it would be serving with the newly arrived Boeing 787s. Just a few days ago the Saudi carrier received 3 more 787s and we now know where they’ll be flying: Jeddah, Dubai, Cairo, Madrid, and Manchester.
In this post:
- 5 New Destinations For Riyadh Air With Its New Boeing 787s
- Point-to-Point and Inbound The Initial Focus
- More Aircraft Coming = Gloves Off
5 New Destinations For Riyadh Air With Its Newly Arrived Boeing 787s
How rapidly Riyadh Air moved after receiving 3 new Boeing 787s tells heaps of how badly they had been awaiting them.
Just a few days after receiving its second, third, and fourth Boeing 787-9 the airline is already announcing where those aircraft will be deployed to.
Two regional routes had already been leaked in the Boeing press release announcing the delivery of the three aircraft. However, we now have the full list which includes 5 new destinations which includes:
| Flight Number | Destination (Code) | Country | Start Date | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RX009 RX011 RX017 RX027 | Jeddah (JED) | Saudi Arabia | June 14th | 3x Daily |
| RX243 | Dubai (DXB) | UAE | June 18th | 1x Daily |
| RX331 | Cairo (CAI) | Egypt | June 25th | 1x Daily |
| RX531 | Madrid (MAD) | Spain | July 17th | 4x Weekly |
| RX417 | Manchester (MAN) | United Kingdom | July 23rd | 3x Weekly |
Point-to-Point and Inbound The Initial Focus
At a first glance it might look like Riyadh Air is looking to give it a first go to take on the regional giants: Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad.
However, digging a little below the surface you’ll find that is not the case, just yet. Time will come, and I think very soon when the gloves will come off and the challenge will be on. Now is not the time, yet.
Reason for that is, the onward network offered from Riyadh international airport is extremely limited.
Additionally, the three long haul flights Riyadh Air is operating, or will commencing to operate in the next 40 days, arrive in Riyadh after both flights to Cairo and Dubai have already departed.
In other words the those long haul flights are only thought for a Saudi-based customer, in both Riyadh or Jeddah. Jeddah being the only service with flights departing after the European bank arrives.
For that reason this is not yet Riyadh Air’s attempt to take on it much larger regional competitors. It’s simply lacking the scale and the network for the time being.
The regional routes to Cairo, Dubai, and partially Jeddah are therefore catering to business traveler and short haul point-to-point customers. They are a way offering a taste of the Riyadh Air experience on a short hop across the Gulf.
More Aircraft Coming = Gloves Off
The time isn’t now, but we’re not that far off. Riyadh Air has a massive number of aircraft on order. Its standing orders include:
| Manufacturer | Aircraft Type | Units Ordered | Order Options | Already Delivered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus | A321XLR | 60 | 0 | 0 |
| Airbus | A350-1000 | 25 | 25 | 0 |
| Boeing | 787-9 | 39 | 33 | 3 |
Despite 3 aircraft having been delivered by Boeing so far, the Riyadh Air fleet sits at 4 units at the moment. The airline already possessed one Boeing 787-9 which is a 9-year-old airframe used to perform all the AOC certification flights.
That aircraft is now serving Riyadh Air flights alongside the additional 3 delivered in the month of June 2026.
So far Riyadh Air has not gone head to head with its regional competitors not attracting too much of the limelight.
However I foresee that dramatically changing as the airline receives more planes particularly those A350-1000s and A321neo too.
Those two aircraft types are strategically important for different reasons:
- The A321neo will unlock regional flight frequency flexibility. Short haul flights will become cheaper to operate and therefore more profitable. Additionally greater frequency on strategic regional routes will help significantly to feed traffic on long haul routes.
- The A350-1000 will unlock high capacity at scale on ultra long range services. This is when Riyadh Air will truly take on its regional competitors and we’ll finally the a clearer idea if the entire Riyadh Air business model will takeoff.