Photo Credit: A Riyadh Air Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 in flight. Boeing
For a startup with no legacy fleet to fall back on, delivery delays were painful. But taking such a large number of aircraft in just a month brings its own headaches.
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Riyadh Air has taken delivery of six widebody aircraft in the space of 30 days as the Saudi startup races to absorb nearly a year's worth of Boeing deliveries in a matter of weeks.
CEO Tony Douglas said all six Boeing 787s are now in service, adding that the airline is due to accept another pair of jets in the next two weeks.
Douglas, speaking at the Airline Leaders Summit on the sidelines of the Farnborough Airshow, believes only a handful of airlines had historically taken more than six widebody aircraft in a single month, and that Riyadh Air is the first startup carrier to do so.
The pace reverses months of delay, with the airline's launch timeline repeatedly pushed back by supply chain and cabin certification problems.
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Tags: airlines , boeing , business travel , jet stream , passenger experience , Riyadh Air , saudi arabia
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