‘Super aggressive’ Riyadh Air to focus expansion on Saudi market
Saudi Arabia’s newest airline, Riyadh Air, plans to focus on the niche market for flights to and from the kingdom rather than competing with its Gulf neighbours’ vast hubs, its CE has said, in an explanation of its “super aggressive” growth plans. Tony Douglas was speaking after the airline in March announced its first aircraft order, for at least 39 Boeing 787 wide-body jets, with options for 33 more. Riyadh Air is also in talks with manufacturers for a fleet of narrow-body jets, which Douglas said should allow Riyadh Air to serve more than 100 destinations by the end of the decade. However, Douglas, a former CE of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad airline, said Riyadh Air would not use the aircraft to take on directly Qatar Airways or Dubai’s Emirates, the region’s top two carriers. Both airlines, as well as Etihad, have grown by offering connecting flights through their huge home airports to and from destinations in other parts of the world. Douglas said Riyadh Air would instead focus on carrying passengers going to and from Saudi Arabia, which has been wooing tourists and investors. “If we look at our closest neighbour, Qatar, obviously Qatar Airways have got an incredible international network, global reach, and a population of give or take 2mn people,” he said. Qatar’s population was “relatively small” and Qatar Airways did a “brilliant job” of offering its home country “world-class connectivity”, Douglas added. But he said: “A very substantial percentage of that traffic is transfer. Very little of it proportionally is point-to-point.” Riyadh Air is owned by Saudi Arabia’s PIF sovereign wealth fund. However, the airline’s creation has led to questions about whether the kingdom needs another carrier alongside Saudia, the existing flag-carrier, and the budget airline Flynas. The $650bn PIF, which is chaired by day-to-day ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has taken on an outsized role in the economy, with involvement in everything from video gaming to tourism, sports, electric vehicle manufacturing, camel milk production and nicotine vapes.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-08-28/unaligned/2018super-aggressive2019-riyadh-air-to-focus-expansion-on-saudi-market
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‘Super aggressive’ Riyadh Air to focus expansion on Saudi market
Saudi Arabia’s newest airline, Riyadh Air, plans to focus on the niche market for flights to and from the kingdom rather than competing with its Gulf neighbours’ vast hubs, its CE has said, in an explanation of its “super aggressive” growth plans. Tony Douglas was speaking after the airline in March announced its first aircraft order, for at least 39 Boeing 787 wide-body jets, with options for 33 more. Riyadh Air is also in talks with manufacturers for a fleet of narrow-body jets, which Douglas said should allow Riyadh Air to serve more than 100 destinations by the end of the decade. However, Douglas, a former CE of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad airline, said Riyadh Air would not use the aircraft to take on directly Qatar Airways or Dubai’s Emirates, the region’s top two carriers. Both airlines, as well as Etihad, have grown by offering connecting flights through their huge home airports to and from destinations in other parts of the world. Douglas said Riyadh Air would instead focus on carrying passengers going to and from Saudi Arabia, which has been wooing tourists and investors. “If we look at our closest neighbour, Qatar, obviously Qatar Airways have got an incredible international network, global reach, and a population of give or take 2mn people,” he said. Qatar’s population was “relatively small” and Qatar Airways did a “brilliant job” of offering its home country “world-class connectivity”, Douglas added. But he said: “A very substantial percentage of that traffic is transfer. Very little of it proportionally is point-to-point.” Riyadh Air is owned by Saudi Arabia’s PIF sovereign wealth fund. However, the airline’s creation has led to questions about whether the kingdom needs another carrier alongside Saudia, the existing flag-carrier, and the budget airline Flynas. The $650bn PIF, which is chaired by day-to-day ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has taken on an outsized role in the economy, with involvement in everything from video gaming to tourism, sports, electric vehicle manufacturing, camel milk production and nicotine vapes.<br/>
