Saudia (SV, Jeddah International) and Riyadh Air (RXI, Riyadh) have ordered thirty-nine B787s each directly from Boeing with an additional ten and 33 options, respectively.
The order for up to 121 B787s in total is a part of Saudi Arabia's strategic vision to turn the country into a global aviation hub by 2030. Both Saudia, which is an active airline with bases at Jeddah International, Riyadh, and Dammam airports, and start-up Riyadh Air which will launch in 2024 are owned by the sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Saudia said that its order comprised both B787-9s and B787-10s, although it did not disclose the exact split between the variants. In turn, Riyadh Air committed to the -9. The aircraft will be powered by General Electric GEnx engines.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows Saudia's current widebody fleet comprises twelve A330-300s, twenty A330-300Regional, thirty-five B777-300(ER)s, thirteen B787-9s, and five B787-10s. The airline had a further two B787-10s on order before the new announcement. The deal is the first confirmed aircraft order for Riyadh Air. The start-up previously said it would look to keep a simple fleet limited to just one or two types.
