COO interview: Riyadh Air's Progress, Future Plans

DALLAS — A few weeks ago, Riyadh Air’s (RX) CEO, Tony Douglas, addressed the audience at Routes World 2024. During a keynote interview, he presented the airline's progress on its AOC, brand, fleet, and destinations.

Following the event, we discussed the airline’s latest developments and ambitions with Chief Operating Officer Peter Bellew. With a long career in aviation and roles in easyJet (U2), Malaysia Airlines (MH), and Ryanair (FR), the COO brings invaluable experience to the table of the fast-growing airline.

As Riyadh Air’s CEO Tony Douglas mentioned, the airline is working hard to get its AOC before the end of the year. What are the next steps in the process, and do you expect any delays?

We’ve completed the flying part of our AOC process, and now we are working closely with our regulator, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), to meet their final requirements before they make a decision on awarding the license.

Riyadh Air expressed the ambition to fly to over 100 destinations within five years of operations, stretching as far east as Tokyo. Will the network already serve all continents within this timeframe, including North and South America?

Riyadh Air is on schedule to take off on its first flight in mid-2025 and, as you say, will connect the capital city to more than 100 destinations by 2030.

We’ve been greatly encouraged by the interest from across the aviation ecosystem and expect to make some exciting announcements in the coming months both here in the Kingdom and around the world. We have strong global partners show can extend our global network to all points on the map, even if we do not serve them ourselves in the early years.

“The brand is Riyadh, the brand is Riyadh, the brand is Riyadh.” Tony Douglas also stresses promoting Riyadh as a new global capital. With the new King Salman Airport project, what more investment will take place to incentivize traveling through (and to) the Saudi capital?

Quite simply, Riyadh Air is the airline for a city that will become one of the most prominent global capitals anywhere in the world this century. And we are fully committed to playing our part in ensuring Riyadh’s potential is captured to the full. This means we will have a very strong focus on Saudi talent and aim to create around 200,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030 in the Kingdom.

As that figure suggests, the opportunities provided by Riyadh Air will help propel a massive impact on Saudi Arabia’s – not to mention Riyadh’s – burgeoning employment ecosystem. Riyadh Air entered the aviation market at a time of significant global growth. According to Boeing's Commercial Market Outlook, global passenger traffic is expected to increase by 4% annually over the next 20 years.

This, combined with Riyadh’s strategic location connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe, positions Riyadh Air to compete directly with established airlines on routes that extend beyond the Gulf region.

The development of Riyadh Air will have a multiplier effect on the broader economy. By creating new jobs, attracting foreign investment and partnerships, fostering innovation, and bringing the world’s first digital-native airline to market, Riyadh Air will contribute significantly to the overall growth and diversification of the Saudi economy. Increasing Saudi’s connectivity with the world is a key pillar of the nation’s tourism strategy and will ensure we sustain our rapid growth and meet our new ambitious target of 150 million visits by 2030.

As a key player in Saudi Arabia's National Tourism Strategy and National Transport and Logistics Strategy, Riyadh Air is crucial in contributing to the Kingdom’s broader economic diversification agenda. This naturally includes contributing to its tourism strategy. By flying to more than 100 destinations by 2030, we aim to open the Kingdom to the world and make its stunningly beautiful natural landscapes and attractions more accessible to international audiences.

Saudi Arabia has the potential to become the world’s leading tourism and business destination, and Riyadh will be a crucial part of that. Which is why it is imperative there is an airline suitably equipped to handle the exponentially increased footfall that has been predicted. Riyadh Air’s potential is vast, as its potential for meaningful, positive impact on a global scale and we relish the opportunity to help connect our capital city and the rest of the world.

With regards to King Salman International Airport: the development being undertaken will transform it into a hub for tourism, travel, and transportation in Riyadh and the wider region. The project aligns with Saudi Arabia’s vision to transform Riyadh to be among the top 10 city economies in the world, while increasing the growth of the city’s population to 15–20 million people by 2030.

Riyadh Air is fully committed to collaborating with entities across the nation’s aviation ecosystem to ensure the creation of an industry that is truly the envy of the rest of the world.

How do you envision the collaboration and competition with established legacy carriers in Saudi Arabia and the GCC?

Riyadh Air is fully committed to collaborating with entities across Saudi Arabia and the GCC’s aviation ecosystem. As previously mentioned, doing so will ensure the creation of a comprehensive aviation industry that is truly the envy of the rest of the world. In terms of Saudi Arabia, aviation is a key pillar of Vision 2030, with the Kingdom’s wider economic and social ambitions very much being enhanced through global connectivity. The work of Riyadh Air is a crucial part of that.

There are 12 Vision Realization Programs within Vision 2030 and three of them are directly supported by the Kingdom’s aviation sector, while the other nine partly benefit from its contributions. Only by collaborating with other entities in the nation’s aviation ecosystem will we ensure that those ambitions are fully achieved. In terms of competition with other legacy carriers in Saudi Arabia and the GCC, we believe that competition is healthy in the aviation industry and should hopefully result in better standards for travellers across the board.

At the end of the day, however, our main priority is the success of Riyadh Air, and as a truly digital native airline, we believe we are in a strong position to achieve our objectives. As a city and a G20 capital, Riyadh is underserved in terms of connectivity, so there is huge potential to meet these demands as the city continues to grow. Riyadh Air is not aiming to be a global connector like similar carriers in the region but focuses on point-to-point traffic to bring visitors to the city and offer greater options to residents when they wish to travel.

“Here lies the airline that did not take sustainability seriously.” With these words, Tony Douglas concluded his keynote interview at Routes World 2024, indicating the importance of sustainability. What set Riyadh Air apart regarding sustainability since its early days, and will the airline be a global model?

Riyadh Air is fully committed to applying global best sustainability and safety practices in the aviation industry, and, yes, our ambition is to be the leader in aviation sustainability. We are committed to UN SDG principles, SAF and other environmental fuels deployment and to Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative to increase the use of clean energy and address climate change.

By virtue of having the newest fleet of any airline, we will also have the most efficient aircraft – and our new Dreamliner 787 aircrafts will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 30% with a 60% noise reduction.

The Riyadh Air team at the 2023 Dubai Airshow.