Saudi start-up Riyadh Air is looking to add large widebodies to its fleet after securing orders for new narrowbody aircraft.
The airline plans to add larger widebodies than the Boeing B787 that it already has on order, with both the Boeing B777X and Airbus A350-1000 under consideration.
CEO Tony Douglas told Reuters that a decision on the order will be made in the first half of 2025, and that talks with manufacturers will begin within two months.
Douglas is yet to reveal further details on the order, though in total, the airline aims to eventually operate more than 200 aircraft.
He also highlighted the airline’s intention to reach 100 international destinations within the first five years.
The airline is scheduled to commence operations next year where it will slowly takeover Saudia’s portion of Riyadh’s hub operations.
For the recently announced narrowbody order of 60 Airbus A321neo jets, Douglas said Riyadh Air is expected to receive them between 2026 and 2030, despite Airbus’s waiting list for the model going through the end of the decade.
Reuters reports the delivery slots could have been made possible by taking over slots originally assigned for AirAsia, which is believed to have been making adjustments to its Airbus order.
Despite its planned launch next year, Riyadh Air would still have to depend on the timely delivery of its first Dreamliners.
Speaking at a UK Aviation Club event on 5 November, Douglas said: “Aircraft is always the principle issue, because we cannot operate until we’ve taken delivery of our first three aircraft.
“We will get deliveries of [B787] widebodies from Boeing next year. That remains the plan.”
Owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Riyadh Air has been setup to complement Saudia as the country’s two premium carriers and take on the highly competitive Gulf market.
