Ajit Karn
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a new national airline on Sunday, as part of a strategy to make Riyadh a global aviation centre rivalling regional leaders such as Dubai and Doha.
According to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Riyadh Air plans to commence flights to more than 100 international destinations by 2030.
As part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s expansive “Vision 2030” reform agenda, the Gulf kingdom is pursing ambitious aviation objectives, including tripling annual passenger traffic to 330 million by the end of the decade.
Additionally, it intends to transport up to five million tonnes of cargo annually.
Last November, officials disclosed plans for a 57-square-kilometer (22-square-mile) airport in Riyadh that will accommodate 120 million passengers per year by 2030 and 185 million passengers per year by 2050.
Existing Riyadh airport capacity is approximately 35 million passengers.
The new airline is the latest in a “huge portfolio of projects” that will “consolidate our country’s position as an international centre for aviation and a global logistics hub,” according to Saudi transport minister Saleh Al-tweets. Jasser’s
SPA announced that Tony Douglas, former CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, has been appointed CEO.
– A new centre –
The announcement on Sunday stated that Riyadh Air would operate a “fleet of sophisticated aircraft,” but did not specify the fleet’s size or origin.
The Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund that will own the airline, was “near to an agreement” with Boeing for a $35 billion aircraft order, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
The kingdom’s busiest international airport is located in Jeddah, a metropolis on the coast of the Red Sea, where Saudia is headquartered.
Each year, the city welcomes millions of Muslims performing the hajj and umrah pilgrimages, for which it is known as the “Gateway to Mecca.”
In recent years, officials have attempted to position Riyadh, located in central Saudi Arabia, as a rival to Dubai’s business capital status.
Khalil Lamrabet, former CEO of the Saudi Air Connectivity Program, told AFP last November, “They want to make it a cosmopolitan city competing with Dubai and Doha from an investment perspective, a tourism perspective, and an infrastructure perspective.”
To achieve this, the country must establish a dedicated centre in Riyadh.
Officials have projected that the population of the capital will increase to between 15 and 20 million by 2030, from the current eight million.
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Some industry analysts have questioned the viability of Saudi Arabia’s objectives, characterising the regional market as “saturated.”
The Saudi strategy hinges in part on penetrating the domestic market of a country with a population of approximately 35 million, which officials view as a significant competitive advantage for national carriers over Emirates and Qatar Airways.
“There is substantial outbound and domestic traffic in the kingdom,” Lamrabet said.
“The reliance on transfer flights will be lower than at other regional centres.”
