Riyadh Air

Overview

Riyadh Air is a Saudi Arabian flag carrier owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and based in Riyadh. Its launch slipped from 2025 because of Boeing 787 delivery delays and cabin readiness. Ticket sales to the public opened for flights from 10 June 2026, after months of Riyadh–London flights used mainly by staff and PIF employees. It is not a member of an alliance; it has said it will prefer bespoke partnerships. Its Wikipedia entry lists cooperation agreements with SkyTeam members including Delta, China Eastern, Saudia and Air France-KLM.

Network and hubs

The hub is King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh. The first six routes announced were London Heathrow (from 10 June 2026), Jeddah (14 June), Dubai (18 June), Cairo (25 June), Madrid (17 July) and Manchester (23 July), according to One Mile at a Time. The London flight is RX401/RX402. Earlier plans targeted more than 100 destinations across six continents (Airways).

Fleet

As of July 2026, the airline had taken delivery of six Boeing 787-9s. At Farnborough 2026 it exercised options for 28 more 787s, converting 20 to the larger 787-10, and ordered six Airbus A350-1000s (Simple Flying). It also ordered 60 Airbus A321neo narrowbodies in October 2024 (Wikipedia).

On board

Each 787-9 has 290 seats in three classes. The Business cabin has 28 seats, including four Business Elite seats at the front (Head for Points). Business seats have 22-inch 4K OLED screens with on-demand content and Bluetooth audio, but the reviewer found the Wi-Fi was not working on his flight. Some early flights used a former Oman Air 787-9 with different interiors.

Good to know

• Carry-on: one bag up to 56x36x23 cm and one personal item up to 5 kg.
• Checked baggage varies by cabin and fare. A third-party listing gives international Economy as 25 kg (Lite), 30 kg (Smart) and 35 kg (Flex). Check the airline's site before booking.
• Change fees, on-time performance figures and fare ranges were not found in published sources.
• Riyadh Air has announced a loyalty programme and partnerships with Delta and Virgin Atlantic (Upgraded Points); check the airline for current details.