Owned 100 per cent by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Riyadh Air aims to connect Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh to 100 international cities by 2030. This and several other headlines came through from the Riyadh Air hub at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London. A partnership was revealed with Aramco for fuel supply while exploring pathways of alternative energy together. An announcement was made of a revolving credit facility with eight banks, seven of them in the Kingdom and one from Dubai – that highlights the confidence of the financial sector in the business case of the airline. Further, Riyadh Air placed orders for 132 aircraft, including 60 Airbus A321neo jets and 7 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air, discussed the airline’s cutting-edge digital plans with TTN on the sidelines of WTM. Riyadh Air’s AI-powered digital capability will offer real-time flight updates, personalised services and smooth booking processes. It will give passenger unprecedented access since they will be able to book hotels, lounges, taxis, concerts, and football tickets alongside flights, ensuring a convenient travel itinerary, all within Riyadh Air’s shopping cart.
Douglas said: “Almost 99 per cent of Saudi nationals use their mobile phones for browsing as they seek speed, efficiency and convenience, and Riyadh Air will meet their travel needs where everything can be booked in one place. We will be at the forefront of innovation when it comes to booking travel experiences.”
The offers and orders-based technology will make Riyadh Air the first full-service carrier to build a native modern retailing and customer experience platform
Essentially, the offers and orders-based technology will make Riyadh Air the first full-service carrier to build a native modern retailing and customer experience platform. The technology is being developed with FLYR, that specialises in travel tech innovation. In developing this tech offering, Riyadh Air and FLYR will be following the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) business architecture principles in modern airline retailing.
Alongside airline partners such as Delta Air Lines and Singapore Airlines among others, Riyadh Air will be offering a seamless, globally connected travel experience.
Earlier, at Apex Expo in Long Beach, California, Riyadh Air launched impressive inflight entertainment with Panasonic Avionics’ Astrova that will be deployed on their entire Boeing 787-9 fleet. The in-flight entertainment offering will feature 4K OLED screens, option for pre-travel content selection via app, and interconnected viewing across flights. Another feature will be USB-C type charging for mobile phones in keeping with passenger demands.
Talking about the ability of Riyadh Air to take off in a competitive Middle East market where there are several strong airline brands with vast global networks, Douglas said, “We’re not trying to create a market that doesn’t exist. Riyadh, you know, the capital city of a G20 country is not well enough connected. You do not have the option to fly direct to Tokyo. You do not have the option to fly direct to Shanghai or Seoul or Sydney and the list just goes on and on which for a G20 country, and the second fastest growing economy within the G20 is clearly not sustainable. So, we’re trying to actually serve a market that, at the moment, has to use, the likes of Qatar Airways and Emirates.”