Tag Archives: Riyadh Air

Riyadh Air has taken another significant step on its road to its first flight in 2025 with the first intake of 27 pioneering females who commenced their 30-month diploma course on their path to become certified aircraft engineering technicians. In a groundbreaking move and a first for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, female engineers will study under the supervision and guidance of Aviation Australia and the International Aviation Technical College at Riyadh Airport, this follows an MOU signed between Riyadh Air and the Colleges of Excellence in August 2023 and is the first collaboration of many between the organizations. These budding engineers are all Saudi high-school graduates with impressive GPAs and were chosen from thousands of applicants who wished to be part of the Riyadh Air story as it moves towards future operations. The airline is strongly committed to inclusiveness and in a positive sign of the ongoing role of women in the airline, Riyadh Air has specifically chosen females for its entire first intake of trainee engineers to be placed on the apprenticeship program. Senior leaders from Riyadh Air including Tony Douglas, CEO, H.E. Mark Donovan, Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Engineer Ajman Abdullah, CEO of Colleges of Excellence met with the trainee engineers during a visit to the facility at Riyadh Airport. Female aircraft maintenance engineers and technicians currently account for only 3.0% (*ICAO Statistics) of the worldwide workforce. With a shortfall of qualified maintenance workers expected in the coming years, Riyadh Air is harnessing an expanding talent pool of Saudi females who are keen to enter non-traditional roles in the industry. Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air said, “Riyadh Air is an airline …

Riyadh Air and Artefact signed a strategic partnership aimed at revolutionising the aviation industry through AI applications. Utilising cutting edge cloud and AI technologies, the partnership will focus on building Riyadh Air’s data analytics platform and developing AI solutions across its main business and corporate functions. Through these AI solutions, Riyadh Air will be able to hyper-personalise its guest experience and elevate its guest service through intelligent channels, optimise its flight and ground operations through real-time data insights and predictions, and launch fit-for-purpose offerings of Air and non-Air products through highly efficient and targeted sales channels. Abe Dev, Vice President Digital & Innovation at Riyadh Air, added, “Our partnership with Artefact signifies Riyadh Air’s dedication to leveraging cutting edge technologies to enhance guest experiences at every stage and every moment of their journey. This partnership with Artefact builds upon our recent collaborations with leaders in the aviation industry. Through AI integration, we aim to redefine travel standards, offering personalised, seamless digital-first experience to our guests ahead of our maiden flight in 2025.” Commenting on the partnership, Rahul Arya, CEO and Managing Partner of Artefact MENA, said: “Our partnership with Riyadh Air marks a significant milestone in our commitment to pioneering AI solutions tailored to the unique needs of the aviation industry. By combining Riyadh Air’s forward-thinking approach with Artefact’s expertise in data and AI solutions, we’re poised to set new standards for innovation in the airline sector.” Riyadh Air, set to make its maiden flight in 2025, is poised to revolutionise the future of air travel and exceed guests’ expectations of their travel experience. With an unwavering dedication to cutting-edge thinking and innovation, Riyadh Air aims to set new standards …

Riyadh Air announced it has joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative that promotes responsible business practices and the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In a letter to António Guterres UN Secretary General, Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas officially committed Riyadh Air to implementing the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact. As active participants of the UNGC, Riyadh Air will adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies in areas such as human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption and report on progress on these efforts regularly. As part of its aim to support the advancement of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) working alongside partners and stakeholders to drive progress towards these goals by 2030. Riyadh Air will also publish its first Sustainability Report in advance of its maiden in mid-2025. Tony Douglas CEO Riyadh Air said, At Riyadh Air, we are conscious of our environmental impact and committed to actively contributing to the Kingdom’s sustainability goals, adopting world-class practices and leading our industry in integrating ESG into every area of our business. Our modern Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft and GeNX 1B engine are widely acknowledged for their improved environmental impact considerations, and more broadly ESG strategies are front and center to every aspect of how Riyadh Air operates. We pledge to take no shortcuts and sustainability will run throughout the airline, from flight and ground operations to the office culture, to transportation and even to Riyadh Air employees at home. As a start-up airline this a golden opportunity to do the right thing in the right way, from Day 1 continued Douglas. Launched in July 2000 the UNGC is a voluntary UN agreement …

IBM announced their collaboration with Riyadh Air, the digital-native airline currently scheduled to commence operations in early 2025, to revolutionize the airline’s travel experiences. The airline plans to introduce next-generation, channel-fluid guest and traveler interactions, tapping into IBM Consulting’s open ecosystem of business partners and deep industry expertise spanning strategy, experience design, technology and operations. Today, IBM hosted a signing ceremony, announcing the collaboration at the 3rd edition of LEAP 2024, the international technology conference held annually in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; in the presence of Tony Douglas (Chief Executive Officer, Riyadh Air) and Arvind Krishna (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IBM) and executive management from both entities. “We’re on a mission to shape the future of air travel at Riyadh Air,” said Tony Douglas, CEO at Riyadh Air. “By teaming up with IBM, we’re pushing the boundaries of innovation to create a transformed passenger experience that is more seamless, personalized and sustainable. From AI-powered check-in systems to immersive in-flight entertainment, we’re leveraging the latest technologies to make air travel more enjoyable and accessible for everyone.” Committed to delivering unique, intelligent and hyper-personalized guest journeys, Riyadh Air will harness IBM Consulting’s expertise across generative AI, experience orchestration, marketing and customer engagement platforms, mobile, web and in-flight applications. All of these capabilities will be accelerated through the proven, collaborative engagement model of IBM Garage, to help craft guest experiences that are culturally enriching across the travel journey, on ground or in the air. “We’re excited to extend our collaboration with Riyadh Air, working together to revolutionize the way people experience travel,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO at IBM. “We will combine user-friendly design, cutting-edge technology, and a shared commitment …

Riyadh Air and Adobe announced a strategic technology partnership. Riyadh Air will integrate with a broad range of travel partners, both in the Kingdom and globally, allowing guests to manage their entire travel experience through its digital properties. As the lead systems integrator, IBM Consulting will employ Adobe’s Experience Cloud technologies to create a cohesive and tailored travel journey for Riyadh Air guests. With plans to carry its first passengers in 2025, Riyadh Air aims to connect the Kingdom to more than 100 destinations around the world, supporting both the National Aviation Strategy’s and National Tourism Strategy ambitions to bring 330 million annual visitors to the Kingdom by 2030. “We’re on a mission to shape the future of travel and meet guest’s expectations of their travel experience,” said Adam Boukadida, chief financial officer at Riyadh Air. “Through our strategic partnership with Adobe, we will be able to create incredible, personalized experiences for our guests at every stage and every moment of their journey, from planning their trips towards booking and boarding their flight and towards the arrival destination across the world.” “As a new digitally native airline, Riyadh Air has an opportunity to push the boundaries of what’s possible when it comes to delivering personalized, real-time digital experiences for air travelers,” said Anil Chakravarthy, president, Digital Experience Business at Adobe. “The airline’s vision, combined with the power of Experience Cloud and generative AI, holds the promise of setting entirely new standards for digital experiences in the travel industry and beyond.” Adobe technology will be used by Riyadh Air to offer a seamless, end-to-end travel experience to the guests traveling globally to and from Saudi Arabia, as well as those traveling …

Riyadh Air announced a fundamental collaboration with Sabre Corporation to underscore Riyadh Air’s commitment to enhancing operational efficiency and driving incremental revenue gains through Sabre’s end-to-end Network Planning and Optimization solutions. Sabre Network Planning and Optimization solutions empower collaborative and intelligent decision-making, ensuring airlines can optimally design their networks, accurately forecast demand, and profitably schedule and allocate available capacity. Under this groundbreaking deal, Riyadh Air has chosen Sabre’s comprehensive suite of solutions, including Sabre Schedule Manager, Sabre Slot Manager, Sabre Profit Manager, and Sabre Market Intelligence – Global Demand Data (GDD) to achieve its strategic goals and drive its vision. “Sabre’s technology provides a new level of insight that will enable Riyadh Air to make informed network planning and commercial decisions, ensuring greater revenue returns, allowing us to invest more in enhancing the overall passenger experience,” said Vincent Coste, Chief Commercial Officer, Riyadh Air. “We have carefully selected a stable of world class technical suppliers to power Riyadh Air towards its maiden flight in 2025, and this collaboration is a key milestone in our journey to achieve operational excellence and scale our business efficiently.” Sabre Schedule Manager is an industry-leading scheduling solution that increases aircraft utilization by optimizing the schedule development process from planning to distribution, thereby increasing revenue potential. This solution seamlessly integrates with a wide range of third-party solutions and has globally assisted airlines in achieving incremental operating margins and increases in productivity, while maintaining robust and operationally feasible schedules. Sabre Slot Manager is another integral component of Sabre’s suite that automates the slot process and efficiently manages an airline’s critical slot portfolio with improved asset utilization. It stands out as the industry’s most comprehensive slot management solution …

Riyadh Air has selected Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Suite to efficiently manage its core business operations after a competitive bidding process. The services include digitalizing finance, supply chain, and human capital management. The implementation will help Riyadh Air develop a modern, scalable, and secure business platform to enable data driven decision making, reduce costs, enhance employee engagement, and streamline procurement processes. Riyadh Air has chosen Tech Mahindra as the implementation partner for this initiative, which will help Riyadh Air evolve as the world’s first digitally native airline. Tech Mahindra, is a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting, and business re-engineering services and solutions. Adam Boukadida, Chief Financial Officer at Riyadh Air, said, “Riyadh Air aims to disrupt the future of air travel and as part of our vision we need to be at the forefront of innovation and technology. A key part of this approach is to partner with world-class experts as we build technical capabilities that enable us to deliver a seamless digital-first experience to our guests”. Since it launched in March 2023, Riyadh Air has signed several technology and engineering partnerships to enhance Riyadh Air’s offerings, services, and operational models, and set new standards in aviation sustainability and innovation. The airline now has major agreements with Lufthansa Systems, IBM Consulting, Accenture, Swiss AS, CAE, and Microsoft respectively. “Riyadh Air represents the true ambition, capability, and global outlook of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom’s aviation sector is rapidly expanding, and Riyadh Air will play a vital role in helping Saudi Arabia achieve its 2030 aviation goals that aim to outpace global growth”, said Reham AlMusa, Vice President – Cloud Applications, Saudi Arabia, and Managing Director at Oracle Saudi Arabia. “Riyadh …

Riyadh Air has signed a three-year strategic agreement with Accenture to help deliver its technology foundation and capabilities as part of its vision to be the world’s first digitally native airline. The initiative will enable Riyadh Air to operate in a new era of aviation with digital services at its core, using cutting-edge technologies such as cloud data and AI to help deliver a seamless travel experience for its guests and employees. The core enterprise system will enable the company to scale as it aims to offer over 100 destinations by 2030. Accenture will help set up Riyadh Air’s cloud-only infrastructure, cybersecurity capabilities, managed services and operations as the airline gears up for its launch. Adam Boukadida, chief financial officer of Riyadh Air, said, “As a digitally native airline, Riyadh Air will be at the forefront of innovation and technology, allowing us to deliver world-class service to our guests. There is a considerable amount of unseen work taking place behind the scenes enabling both our operations and user experience, with Accenture, as our strategic technology partner, helping us to deliver, secure and operate foundational capabilities.” Emily Weiss, senior managing director at Accenture and head of its Travel practice globally, said, “The launch of Riyadh Air is a landmark moment for the aviation industry as a whole; a brand-new airline that’s designed from the ground up, harnessing the latest technologies to create hyper-connected experiences that meet the demands of today’s, and tomorrow’s travelers. Drawing on our deep industry and digital expertise, we are proud to be collaborating with Riyadh Air to help shape the future of travel.” Boukadida added, “Accenture is pivotal in enabling Riyadh Air’s cloud-first strategy, and our unique …

Swiss-AS officially announced the signing of a strategic agreement with the emerging Saudi Arabian airline Riyadh Air, for the implementation of our Aviation Maintenance and Engineering software solution AMOS. As a national carrier, Riyadh Air will play a significant role in promoting Saudi Arabia’s economic and cultural interests globally, aiding in the development of Riyadh as a major destination in the Middle East. The signing ceremony took place in Dubai, with representatives from both Riyadh Air and Swiss-AS present to celebrate the occasion after their extraordinary debut at Dubai Airshow 2023 and the unveiling of several commercial agreements with leading companies such as IBM, Lucid Motors, Lufthansa Systems, and Saudia. The newly signed partnership will involve aligning AMOS’s capabilities with Riyadh Air’s strategic goals, such as enhancing customer satisfaction, improving operational reliability, and driving innovation in maintenance operations. AMOS as a best-in-class solution The selection of AMOS follows a rigorous and meticulous evaluation, which positioned AMOS as the comprehensive software solution that will seamlessly integrate with Riyadh Air’s evolving ecosystem IT systems landscape. The airline is currently in the process of selecting and defining the solutions essentials for its commercial operations planned for 2025. A critical aspect of this partnership relies on AMOS’s ability to integrate Riyadh Air’s evolving fleet, accommodate new aircraft types and drive the carrier’s sustainability mission for engineering. AMOS is planned to closely integrate with the carriers’ digital initiatives to reach its sustainability goals. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in Riyadh Air’s commitment to optimise its maintenance operations from the very start, with the goal of achieving the highest overall efficiency through AMOS. AMOS will be covering all aspects of the maintenance, engineering, and logistics …

Speaking with TravelTV Middle East, Vincent Coste Chief Commercial Officer Riyadh Air shared that after decades Riyadh Air is the biggest start up airline in the region and scheduled to launch operations by Q2 2025. Coste stated, “we are planning to operate to over 100 destinations by 2030, it will be the G20 capitals of the world as well as a good balance of destinations from all across the world, from Americas to Middle East to Far East. When it comes to our business model, we don’t want to be a mega connector as we already have the connection from Saudia but just to connect the Kingdom to the rest of the world to the Kingdom. We are the second national carrier for Saudi Arabia, we will have two hubs both Riyadh and Jeddah. We will be working very closely with Saudia.” He reiterated the importance of travel agents for Riyadh Air as well as other channels of connection. On the first day of the Dubai Airshow Riyadh Air unveiled the second of its permanent dual-livery designs. The latest livery continues Riyadh Air’s indigo theme with striking lines inspired by the twisting canopies of traditional Bedouin tents and elegant curves of Arabic calligraphy. The bold new look features a sweeping cockpit window design, with the indigo signature theme contrasted beautifully against a light unique iridescent fuselage that reflects purity and the future-focused vision of Saudi Arabia. With a vision to shape the future of air travel, Riyadh Air unveiled its first livery at the Paris Airshow in June this year having previously received its IATA Airline Designator Code (RX) as well as signing a major deal for 90 GEnx engines …