Executive Traveller exclusive
Riyadh Air intends to fly to Australia and New Zealand in the coming years, as the Saudi Arabian flag carrier builds a global network to rival that of Emirates and Qatar Airways.
“We’re talking about connecting to well over 100 destinations,” CEO Tony Douglas tells Executive Traveller, who boasts that the Gulf airline’s fleet of Boeing 787 jets will offer a ‘Mercedes Maybach’ business class and a premium economy that’s closer to business than economy.
Riyadh Air will begin flying in mid-2025 to a handful of key destinations in Europe and the Gulf region, before spreading its wings across Europe, North America and Asia as more aircraft are delivered.
Douglas says direct flights between Riyadh, Australia and New Zealand are on the radar, once the airline has enough aircraft and a sufficient “flow” of passengers.
In the shorter term, Riyadh Air will rely on a portfolio of “strategic partners”, one of which is Singapore Airlines.
“In the early stage of building our network, we’re more likely to put on a ‘thick route’ into Singapore,” Douglas says, “giving people a wonderful guest experience on Riyadh Air… and the final leg (to Australia or New Zealand) on an equally incredible product and experience with Singapore Airlines.”
As to where Riyadh Air wants to fly, Douglas is typically ambitious: “let’s say, eight cities in Australia and three in New Zealand.”
Riyadh Air’s proposed Australian routes
In Australia alone, that’s more an over-estimation – the key capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide number just five, and even allowing for a ‘tag’ leg to Canberra running via Sydney or Melbourne, it’s still two cities shy of Douglas’ ambit target.
At the time of writing, only Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly to all of the ‘big five’ capitals (Emirates’ flights between Adelaide and Dubai are slated to resume in late October).
As previously reported, Qatar Airways also intends to boost flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and Perth, while Emirates’ value-minded sibling Flydubai is also keen on flying to Australia.
If Riyadh Air eventually does manage to reach all five state capitals if will represent a significant boost to capacity (the number of seats in the sky), and that increase in competition and capacity is generally accompanied by a decrease in airfares as more players fight to capture or keep their slice of the market.
Mocktails, not cocktails…
And speculation that in, keeping with the conservative Islamic kingdom’s ban on alcohol, Riyadh Air will be a ‘dry’ airline – surely enough to make many Australians think twice before they book that 14+ hour flight to Saudi Arabia?
“It’s very straightforward, really,” Douglas tells Executive Traveller. ;“We’ll work within the legal framework that is present at any point in time.”
That carefully-worded statement seems to reflect an expectation that restrictions may be gently wound back as part of ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s agenda to develop the nation as a regional trade, finance and tourism hub.
The first small steps have already been taken, with the opening in February this year of a liquor shop in Riyadh selling beer, wine and spirits exclusively to non-Muslim diplomats of foreign counties.
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