Riyadh Air CEO talks launch of new national airline

Riyadh Air is a planned second flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, based in the capital city, CEO Tony Douglas said. 

“The most important thing for the world’s second fastest growing economy is world class connectivity,” Douglas explained. “At the moment, the capital city Riyadh is heavily point to point dominated. We don’t serve our Kingdom well enough for our citizens, but also there’s up to $4 trillion being spent on global destination attractions, and we want to allow the world ease of passage to the Kingdom.”

When asked how Riyadh Air plans to compete with Saudia Airlines, the current flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, Douglas responded: “Saudia is the sister national carrier of the Kingdom… Were talking about a country that’s half the size of western Europe, it needs a lot better connectivity as part of an economic diversification plan by 2030. We’ll connect to over 100 cities all around the region, all around the world, fundamental to our economic growth.” 

The airline unveiled its official livery this week, which Douglas called “super exciting.” 

“What you’re seeing there is a statement of a brand that allows us to tell a story,” he explained. “You’d probably expect to see that on a high-end private jet. And the story is of course this: it’s a full-service carrier, it will set new standards in terms of an obsession to guest service and a digital twist to all of that.”