Riyadh Air Eyes AOC By End Of 2024

Saudi Arabian startup Riyadh Air is well advanced with its air operator certificate (AOC), and is planning to detail its initial routes in early 2025.

“We’re into route-proving flights at the moment,” Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas told delegates at Routes World 2024 in Bahrain. “We’re days away from completing that process. We’ll have an AOC by the end of the year.”

Riyadh Air has 39 Boeing 787-9s on order, plus 33 options, which it will use as its launch aircraft. The 787-9s will fly long-haul and operate onward through Riyadh to regional destinations to maximize utilization. This means slot timings will be key for airports wanting to secure Riyadh Air routes.

Douglas said a narrowbody order of “roughly equivalent scale” will be announced in “relatively short order,” allowing Riyadh Air to start narrowbody operations within a year of launching. An order campaign for larger widebodies has also begun.

Delivery delays are “an ever-present threat,” Douglas said, noting that Riyadh Air’s plans have already been revised three times. Riyadh Air is looking to serve 100 destinations within five years.

The next announcement from Riyadh Air is expected on Oct. 28-30, when the startup will reveal its booking platform. Douglas said this will be “biometric-led,” with passengers using facial recognition for their interactions with the airline, including flight reservations and loyalty program membership.

Douglas described Riyadh Air as a “digitally-led business that enables travel,” and likened the new platform to Amazon. Riyadh Air’s technology focus has created challenges for connecting with its partners, which include Delta Air Lines, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines.  “A lot of the work we’ve been doing is like ‘Google Translate’ to other systems,” he said.

The startup has no plans to join a global alliance, but partnerships are “essential.” Douglas is seeking one more western European partner and one on the Indian subcontinent. “After that, I would say we’re pretty much done,” he said.

The airline’s initial network plans will be released in early 2025. “We'll probably be releasing where those first major connecting cities will be. Quite frankly, I don’t think there will be any surprises,” Douglas said.