IH Aviation and Travel had earlier reported that Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a new national airline, Riyadh Air. At that time, I wrote that it had been rumoured that the airline is looking to place an order for Boeing B787 Dreamliners. Well, that is now official. Let’s look at the order details.
Boeing B787s
Riyadh Air has opted for Boeing B787 Dreamliners “to power its global launch and support its goal of operating one of the most efficient and sustainable fleets in the world”.
The airline has placed an order for 39 Boeing B787-9 Dreamliners, with options for 33 more. Boeing has not revealed the delivery timeline of these aircraft but it has been reported that Riyadh Air is looking at a mid-2025 launch.
This is not a mega order which everybody expected but is certainly a high-value order. In addition to this, Saudia, the country’s current national carrier, has also announced that it has placed an order for up to 49 Dreamliners, which includes the -9 and -10 variants.
In total, both the airlines have ordered a total of up to 121 Dreamliners in what will be the fifth largest commercial order by value in Boeing’s history.
The new airline reflects the ambitious vision of Saudi Arabia to be at the core of shaping the future of global air travel and be a true disrupter in terms of customer experience. Riyadh Air’s commitment to its customers will see the integration of digital innovation and authentic Saudi hospitality to deliver a seamless travel experience. By positioning the airline as both a global connector and a vehicle to drive tourist and business travel to Saudi Arabia, our new 787-9 airplanes will serve as a foundation for our worldwide operations, as we build the wider network and connect our guests to Saudi Arabia and many destinations around the world.
said Tony Douglas, CEO, Riyadh Air.
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The B787-9 variant provides the longest range of the 787 family of airplanes, capable of flying up to 7,565 nautical miles (14,100 kilometres). This will help Riyadh Air explore new airlines and help fulfil its ambition of connecting Saudi Arabia to the world.
This is a significant order that will support Riyadh Air’s commitment to deliver a world-class travel experience, while supporting American aerospace manufacturing jobs at Boeing and across our supply chain. We are incredibly proud of our nearly eight decades of partnership to drive innovation and sustainable growth in Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector. Our agreement builds on that longstanding partnership and will further expand access to safe and sustainable commercial air travel for decades more.
said Stan Deal, President and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
If you look closely at the logo of Riyadh Air, you may be able to see an aircraft window that closely resembles to B787 windows so it seems that a lot of thought has been put into the branding and the B787s will definitely be the flagship aircraft of Riyadh Air, given it is the only aircraft type in the airline’s fleet, at least for now.
Boeing on a roll
Lately, Boeing has been a roll with regards to the sales it has been able to do in the last few months, particularly with the Boeing B787 Dreamliners.
United recently placed an order for 100 B787s, with options for 100 more, for a total of 200 aircraft. Then, Air India placed an order for 20 B787-9s and now, Riyadh Air and Saudia have ordered up to 121 B787 Dreamliners.
So in total, Boeing has got orders for up to 341 B787s in the past few months. It’s good to see the confidence airlines still have in the Dreamliner, particularly after all the issues the airliner has had to face and go through, from the time it has come to life.
Featured image by CNN
What do you think of Riyadh Air choosing the Dreamliner for its operations? Let me know in the comments section below.
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