Virgin Atlantic And Riyadh Air Announce Partnership

Updated: September 4, 2024, 1:02pm CDT

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Riyadh Air and Virgin Atlantic Strike a Deal
Final Thoughts

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Riyadh Air, the Saudi Arabian carrier that has yet to make its inaugural flight, is forming partnerships with airlines around the world.

U.K.-based Virgin Atlantic is the latest airline to sign a deal with start-up Riyadh Air with a view to enhance connectivity between the 2 countries.

The news comes after Virgin announced it would be launching a new service to Riyadh in March 2025.

“Following on from the announcement of our new services from London to Riyadh, we’re committed to working with the best partners in the region, to ensure our first route to Saudi Arabia delivers choice to our customers,” said Shai Weiss, Virgin’s CEO. We’re looking forward to working closely with Riyadh Air as they embark on their journey into the skies.

Here are the details.

Riyadh Air and Virgin Atlantic Strike a Deal

Saudi Arabia is going through somewhat of a rebrand in an attempt to attract more tourism and investment from around the world.

As part of the revolution, the new airline Riyadh Air plans to be a leader in the luxury commercial airline industry, competing directly with its close neighbors Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways.

While the airline is yet to take to the skies, Virgin is the most recent airline to form a partnership with the start-up carrier.

“Riyadh Air has signed agreements with a number of strong global partners around the world, most recently Delta Air Lines, and Virgin Atlantic’s network will assist our growth to and from Saudi Arabia as we enter service in summer 2025,” said Tony Douglas, CEO at Riyadh Air.

Dubai Air Show Riyadh Air Boeing 787 — Riyadh Air displayed its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the Dubai Air Show in 2023. Image Credit: Daniel Ross

When Virgin’s new route to Riyadh launches, this means passengers flying Virgin will be able to connect seamlessly onto Riyadh Air’s yet-to-be-announced destinations.

Delta Airlines, who owns a 49% stake in Virgin, formed a partnership with Riyadh Air back in July so it’s no surprise that Virgin has followed suit.

We’d predict the next logical step for Riyadh Air would be to announce its application to join the SkyTeam airline alliance which both Delta and Virgin are members of.

Airline partnerships aside, Riyadh Air is yet to reveal details of its aircraft interiors and planned route network. Despite this, airlines around the world are keen to partner with the ambitious Saudi Arabian start-up.

Bottom Line:

Riyadh Air is gearing up for its 2025 launch by creating partnerships with well-established airlines around the world like Virgin Atlantic.

Final Thoughts

Saudi Arabia is generating a lot of buzz in the travel industry, especially with the highly anticipated launch of Riyadh Air, a new airline that has formed partnerships with major players like Delta and Virgin Atlantic.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as we learn more about this partnership and what to expect from Riyadh Air when it launches in 2025.