Welcome Home: Riyadh Air’s First of 72 Boeing 787s Touches Down in Saudi Arabia
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At 13:11 local time (10:11 GMT) on Monday 12th, the first Boeing 787-9 to bear the livery of the new local airline Riyadh Air arrived at the Riyadh airport (RLH).
The aircraft, provisionally registered as N8572C, had taken off from Boeing’s facilities in Charleston the previous day at 17:09, and had flown over the North Atlantic, southern France, and the Mediterranean for 13 hours 2 minutes before landing on Saudi territory.
Upon arrival in Riyadh, it performed a flyover of the city center, accompanied by the Saudi Hawks, the display team of the Royal Saudi Air Force.
طيران الرياض يحلق فوق اغلى ارض بلون الخزامى ?
ومره عاجبتني المميزات اللي فيه بأنه يربط 100 وجهه عالمية بالرياض وكلها رحلات مباشرة pic.twitter.com/AOBicXVAaj— فـــــرح (@fahranmohammed3) June 12, 2023
Riyadh Air had unveiled its first livery just last week, which it described as «a perfect combination of cutting-edge technology and timeless elegance,» using lavender (a native of Saudi Arabia, symbolizing hospitality and used by the government for ceremonial and official purposes) and blue as its primary colors.
The airline is part of a $100 billion state initiative to stimulate the growth of the commercial aviation market in a region marked by the presence of major operators such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways.
In March, it confirmed an order for 39 Boeing 787-9s and options for another 33, while in recent weeks, rumors of an order for up to 150 Boeing 737 MAXs have escalated that could be confirmed at the upcoming edition of the Paris Air Show, which is taking place next week.
Riyadh Air, which is slated to begin operations in 2025, will have its hub in Riyadh, the country’s capital and largest city, from which it plans to offer flights to over 100 destinations worldwide.
Tony Douglas Appointed as CEO
The company will be chaired by Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, while Tony Douglas will serve as its CEO. In addition to his more than forty years of experience, Douglas held the same position at Etihad since January 2018.
With an extensive career in the transportation and infrastructure sectors, he will oversee the gradual expansion of Riyadh Air, which initially aims to develop a short and medium haul network, different from the long haul and high-end service offered by Etihad. However, the new Saudi airline also plans to develop its long haul network in the near future.
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