Riyadh Air is showcasing its lavender-indigo livery on a Boeing-owned 787 at the Paris Airshow and plans to reveal a second livery later this year or early next year. “We are going dual-livery. We are a start-up, the largest start-up in commercial aviation in decades, and it needs a story,” remarked Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas at a Paris Airshow media event. He remained tight-lipped on whether or not the livery will retain the same color scheme, but disclosed the current livery would not exclusively appear on the 787s it has on order.
The airline remains in the process of selecting a narrowbody and will not announce an order at the Paris Airshow. The order, which could include up to 150 Boeing 737 Max jets, will likely be announced “between the Paris Airshow and the Dubai Airshow…before the end of the year,” executives told AIN.
The Saudi start-up expects to launch operations in early 2025 using the widebodies on an international network that will eventually span all major capitals. The narrowbodies will support its domestic network, Douglas said. By 2030, Riyadh Air wants to fly to 100 destinations.
Riyadh Air placed a firm order for 39 Boeing 787-9s, with options for a further 33 in March, as part of a wider deal with Saudi Arabian carrier Saudia for a combined 121 Boeing 787s.
Environmental performance factored as a “big part of the selection” of its widebody fleet and would also drive the choice of its narrowbodies, Douglas said. He intends to fuel Riyadh Air's aircraft with a blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from the beginning, he told AIN, indicating it could be locally produced and sourced SAF. “We will need to be a thought champion in sustainability,” he stressed. “You will have me heard say before that I believe that airlines that don't focus on sustainability may be forced out of business.”
He declined to disclose the delivery schedule of the 787s on order and told AIN that Riyadh Air managed to secure delivery slots from 2025 through 2030 because discussions started a “long time” before the March announcement.
Douglas emphasized that Boeing’s commitment to timely delivery of the 787s is part of the deal. “They have made those commitments,” Douglas said. He added there was a “very mature understanding that if they fail to deliver, we have no fallback.”