Riyadh Air Confirms 787 Launch

Riyadh Air is currently progressing with the necessary work to commence 787 flights after a lengthy time on the sidelines.

As 2025 passes its halfway point, Riyadh Air is highly confident that a launch will occur by the end of 2025.

If all were to go according to the current plan, the upcoming Saudi Arabian-based carrier would see service to European cities by year’s end, with two locations planned.

From this point forward, as more 787s were to be delivered alongside the other aircraft ordered, more global destinations would join the long list of planned target markets.

The Delayed Launch Of Riyadh Air

For Riyadh Air, the possibility of launching by year’s end is a significant milestone in what has been a consistent uphill battle to get the airline off the ground.

The upcoming international airline received its Air Operator Certificate from the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Saudi Arabia, in April 2025, paving the way for an official launch.

The decision was handed down following an over six-month testing campaign initiated by the carrier to obtain the necessary permission to launch commercial flights.

However, only a matter of days after securing the AOC, Riyadh Air confirmed yet another delay to the launch, expecting its first flight to depart in Q4 2025, therefore, near the end of the calendar year.

The move scrapped the previously anticipated Q3 launch; however, tracking even further back, the first flight should have already been airborne if delays had not been encountered in the process.

Much of Riyadh Air’s struggles have centred around Boeing’s delivery delays and the inability to deliver the upcoming airline to have the capacity it needs on time.

This is an industry-wide problem, where planemakers deliver planes with months, and sometimes years, of delays, which compounds issues for customers as they attempt to retire jets, commence new routes, or, in this case, launch scheduled passenger operations.

As 2025 quickly comes to a screeching halt, there remains confidence from the airline that a formal launch will still occur this year, but with struggles in acquiring 787s, the date will always be subject to change.

An Airbus A350-1000 Order

Away from the strong commitment to the Boeing 787 for future long-haul flying, high-capacity long-haul flying will be aided thanks to the recent order confirmation of the Airbus A350-2000 at the 2025 Paris Airshow.

This deal saw the airline sign a firm contract for 25 of the A350-1000 jets, with an option to increase the purchase to 50, as the contract also included purchase rights.

The decision means that Riyadh Air will see the A350-1000 act as the flagship and enabler of greater capacity to be added to international markets that the more modest 787-9 would not be able to offer.

For Riyadh Air, the order for the A350-1000 was a long time in the making as the carrier studied prospective options to elevate its long-haul flying.