Riyadh Air assured Boeing 787 jets will be delivered in time for first flights in 2025

Airline considering more 787s, as well as Boeing 777X and Airbus A350 models for its second wide-body order, says chief Peter Bellew

Riyadh Air has received assurances from Boeing that it will receive the first of its Boeing 787 jets in time for the airline's planned first flights at the end of the second quarter of 2025.

Executives from the Saudi airline have made several visits to the factory in Charleston, South Carolina where the Dreamliners are made.

The Saudi start-up is also considering models including the Boeing 777X or more 787s and Airbus A350s amid talks with both manufacturers for a second wide-body aircraft order, Peter Bellew, Riyadh Air's chief operating officer, told The National on the sidelines of the Farnborough International Airshow.

A decision on the new order size and aircraft type is expected within 12 months.

Riyadh Air, which is doubling down on preparations to start operations next year, said Boeing has "restated their commitment" for the handover of the first 787 Dreamliner from an order placed in March last year.

"We've had continual commitments from Boeing that our first aircraft will be on time, so we have to take them on their word. They are aware we're a start-up and we don't have older or leased aircraft to fall back on ... we're in close contact with them constantly," Mr Bellew said.

"We are keeping our plans running with that expectation."

The executive has visited the Charleston factory four times in the past seven months.

"Boeing have really advanced their plans with hiring extra people and putting in place additional support systems around the 787 programme and we have great transparency from Boeing around everything they're doing at the moment with the team in Charleston for the manufacture of the aircraft," he said.

Riyadh Air's chief executive Tony Douglas has also met Boeing's chief operating officer and chief of commercial planes unit, Stephanie Pope.

"They have made significant changes in the management team in Charleston, which is where we're mostly concerned with, and it seems to be very positive. I'm very supportive of the team working there and I have good faith in their ability to get things back on track," Mr Bellew said.

The comments come as Boeing faces a number of complaints from its airline customers on jet delays that have limited capacity and hampered their growth.

The US plane maker is grappling with production issues amid a safety and quality crisis that has heightened regulatory and legal scrutiny of its processes.

On the eve of the Farnborough Airshow, Ms Pope conceded the company had disappointed some of its customers but it was making transformational, systemic changes based on feedback from employees, airlines and regulators.

Preparations for first flight under way

Riyadh Air is doubling down on efforts to start operations in the summer of next year and is "in good shape" to debut on time or even before schedule, depending on how soon it gets its first jet, Mr Bellew said.

Its biggest milestone is to receive its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), which it expects in the first week of December.

The AOC application process has been under way for the past 18 months and will conclude with the test flight programme scheduled for September 12 when the airline will operate from Riyadh to Jeddah to Tabuk and return to Riyadh.

As part of the licensing process that requires it to operate in all the regions it plans to fly to in its first year, the airline in the next month and half will run test flights to Munich, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Cairo, Istanbul, Muscat and possibly Dubai, Mr Bellew said.

"We are in good shape and all of our technical systems are fully up and running, our operations control centre is also up and running, and we've just moved to our new headquarters last week," he said.

The airline must also secure slots at international airports, which are highly competitive at busy hubs, but Riyadh Air has already received much interest.

They have "Riyadh Airport at the top of their list of airlines they want to fly to their airports", Mr Bellew said.

He acknowledged that there are some European airports where slots are in short supply but "we have a solution in mind on how we will get the slots we require".

"Dubai is a pretty busy airport, I'm sure that will be an interesting challenge but I think we will work our way through it and find a solution," he said.

"Airports see Riyadh Air as a good revenue opportunity. There's rarely a brand new full-service carrier and we link up a capital that many of the airports see as a missing link on their departure board."

Hiring plans

Riyadh Air has hired 30 fully trained pilots on the 787 aircraft – who came from 18 airlines around the world – 32 cabin crew and an experienced team of engineers that includes Saudis, Mr Bellew said.

Over the next two years the airline will hire an additional 700 pilots and 3,000 cabin crew, the executive said.

Salaries and benefits package for pilots and cabin crew are "competitive" but on par with those of major Gulf airlines, he said, without providing details.

"It's been a massive effort to get us to this point because its rare that somebody starts up a wide-body airline, normally they start with narrow-body aircraft, which are much less complex."

The airline has laid the foundations and training facilities to enable it to grow quickly.

"It's been easier to get great people than I thought, because there's a shortage in great talent around the world ... people are very interested to be involved with the journey we're on and the senior management are experienced veterans," he said.

Cabin reveal

Riyadh Air plans to reveal the aircraft seats in the next six to seven months, Mr Bellew said, declining to specify seat configuration, cabin-class structure or product features.

"You can expect something truly stunning and it will be cutting-edge technology," he said.

Despite disruption to seat supplies, especially for wide-body aircraft, which has led to delays in handling customised orders, Mr Bellew expects timely handovers for Riyadh Air's products.

"If you talk to Airbus and Boeing, there has been a noticeable improvement in the last three months in the timelines by the manufacturers of seats and in-flight entertainment. Those are the two areas that have been lagging behind generally but I think that's improving," he said.

"This will continue to improve fairly rapidly in the next 12 months, which is good news for us, as we start taking volume deliveries through Q2 of 2025."

The airline's strategy in the first few years is to build point-to-point traffic whereby it carries passengers into and out of its hub in Saudi Arabia's capital because there is a "significant shortage" of seat capacity, Mr Bellew said.

"We will offer transit connecting traffic but the core of our business will always be bringing people to and from Saudi Arabia."

Second wide-body jet order

Discussions with Boeing and Airbus over a second wide-body order are continuing, after the airline made its first order in March 2023 for Boeing 787 twin-aisle jets.

"There are really, really interesting talks with both parties ... we're working hard on it. It's been productive so far," Mr Bellew said.

"On the Boeing side it would be the 777X or it will be the 787," he said.

Asked if he was concerned by the years of delays on the 777X programme, Mr Bellew said: "There is a significant level of ground-breaking innovation on that aircraft that requires a lot of regulatory approval and sometimes these things take time. Nobody has ever had a folding-wing giant aircraft before."

In terms of Airbus products, the A350 is a "fantastic aircraft" and is also under consideration as it has proved "very successful in the region".

The Airbus A330 Neo is also "fantastic" but does not have the number of seats Riyadh Air requires for most of its route network, he said.

While Chinese plane maker Comac currently does not produce jets at volume, in the next 10 years airlines such as Riyadh Air will include the company in their narrow-body order campaigns and consider them an option, he said.

Comac will be a “strong third force” in aircraft manufacturing within a decade and a "serious" competitor to the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing.

"Comac are going to be a significant challenge to Airbus and Boeing over the next 10 years," he said.

Comac's planned C929 wide-body will be able to challenge the 787 and the A350 when it launches, he added.