Riyadh Air must fly to more than 100 destinations worldwide by 2030. The airline will be wholly owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF. That fund is already in talks with Boeing and Airbus about the purchase of about eighty aircraft. According to the American business newspaper ‘The Wall Street’ Journal, the fund would be close to an agreement with Boeing for about $ 35 billion in aircraft.
With Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia wants to compete with other Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. The former CEO of the latter company, the British Tony Douglas, has been appointed to lead Riyadh Airlines.
Saudi Arabia expects the new airline to contribute $20 billion to the country’s economic growth. The new airline would also create 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Until 2019, Saudi Arabia was largely closed to visitors. But the controversial crown prince Mohammed bin Salman wants to make his country less dependent on oil price shocks. This has led to investments in holiday resorts and airports, among other things.
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