Riyadh Air, a Saudi Arabian startup airline, has ordered 60 A321neos, following a joint order of up to 121 Boeing airplanes (including 43 as option) with Saudia, a national flag carrier in March 2023.
Riyadh Air, established by a government-affiliated fund, plan to begin its services in the summer 2025. The startup airline is regarded as one of the Saudi Arabia’s tourism strategies to diversify the oil-dependent economy, in which the nation has goals of becoming a global air hub and receiving 100 million tourists a year by 2030.
Riyadh Air and Delta Air Lines announced in early this year that they signed a partnership agreement on flights between U.S. and Saudi Arabia.