Riyadh Air willing to buy Boeing planes from cancelled Chinese orders: CEO

Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas

Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas said on Monday the Saudi carrier would be ready to buy Boeing aircraft destined for Chinese airlines if they are not delivered due to the escalating trade war between the US and China.

"What we've done... is made it quite clear to Boeing, should that ever happen, and the keyword there is should, we'll happily take them all," Douglas said in an interview with Reuters.

Boeing is looking to resell potentially dozens of planes locked out of China by tariffs after repatriating a third jet to the United States in a delivery standoff that drew new criticism of Beijing from US President Donald Trump. During an analyst call last week, Boeing publicly flagged the potential aircraft sale, saying that there would be no shortage of buyers in a tight jet market.

Douglas said Riyadh Air had not seen any impact on demand for travel to and from the kingdom's capital from global macroeconomic uncertainty, adding that the company plans to announce an order for wide-body jets this summer.

The airline, which is aiming to launch in the fourth quarter of 2025, has hired 500 employees and intends to increase its workforce to 1,000 over the next nine to 12 months, Douglas said.

Douglas said the less than 2-hour flight represents one of the world’s most profitable routes in the world for an airline, from a revenue per kilometer standpoint.

The restart of flights from the UAE into Syria, and flying through the Syrian airspace is “probably a signal that things are at the margin moving in the right direction,” he added.

According to data available with Argaam, in October 2024, Riyadh Air signed an agreement to purchase 60 Airbus A321neo aircraft ahead of its planned launch of operations in 2025.

Following its establishment, the airline placed its first-ever aircraft order for 72 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.