India to Play ‘Crucial’ Role in Riyadh Air’s Global Network
Photo Caption: Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas at Skift Global Forum East 2023. Source: Skift Skift
Skift Take
As Riyadh Air prepares for its first passenger flight, the airline is securing global partnerships – with India firmly in its sights.
Speaking in Delhi on Wednesday, Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas kept pushing the momentum message: “We will be the biggest start-up in our industry in the past 40 years.”
It’s a big claim, but one that carries credibility. After all, Riyadh Air isn’t just any start-up airline – it’s backed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and has a mission to bring much-needed nonstop connectivity to the Kingdom’s capital.
Douglas was in India to explore potential partnerships and lay the groundwork for the carrier’s commercial launch later this year.
Of course, launching a global airline isn’t easy. To help bolster connectivity from day one, Riyadh Air has signed big-name deals with the likes of Delta, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Turkish Airlines, and China Eastern. However, India and parts of Europe remain areas of relative weakness.
Regarding possible partners in India, there are only two large airlines in contention:
