Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s newest national airline, is set to launch its maiden flight earlier than expected, departing from Riyadh to London Heathrow on October 26. The service will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 technical spare aircraft named “Jamila,” meaning “beautiful” in Arabic.
Established in 2023 and owned by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, Riyadh Air revealed the milestone at its headquarters in the capital, along with several major updates. These include the opening of a luxury lounge, the launch of a loyalty program, and new high-profile partnerships.
Speaking to Arab News, CEO Tony Douglas described the launch as a historic achievement. “It’s almost overwhelming on a personal level, and I’m probably speaking for the whole Riyadh Air family. It’s been a three-year journey to get here, and the next stage begins with going live on Oct. 26 with daily service to London Heathrow,” he said.
Douglas explained that the airline currently has two new aircraft awaiting delivery and requires three in total to start full commercial operations. We’re putting Jamila, our technical spare, onto Heathrow first. When the first new aircraft arrives, Jamila will switch to serving Dubai as our second destination, and the new aircraft will take over the Heathrow route,” he added.
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