Riyadh Air will explore partnerships with AI, IndiGo: CEO Tony Douglas

NEW DELHI: Riyadh Air, which plans to start commercial flights this year, will explore partnerships with Air India and IndiGo, the Saudi Arabian carrier's CEO Tony Douglas said on Wednesday, describing the Indian subcontinent as a "super important" market.

With ambitious plans to connect Saudi Arabia to over 100 destinations globally by 2030, Riyadh Air has already entered into partnerships with various global carriers, including Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Delta Air Lines.

Douglas is leading a delegation to India, which is a key market for the airline, for discussions to explore potential partnerships. During the visit from March 12 to 14, the delegation will meet the officials at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Air India, and IndiGo, according to a release.

The delegation will also be meeting the officials of the Saudi Arabian embassy.

Riyadh Air, which will be the second national carrier of Saudi Arabia after Saudia, will have wide-body B787-9 Dreamliners and narrow-body A321 neos in its fleet. It will also have extra wide-body B777Xs or A350-1000s.

At a select media briefing in the national capital on Wednesday, Douglas said the Indian subcontinent is "super super important" and that the airline will explore partnerships with Air India and IndiGo.

"Any relation is a two-way street... we just want to explore now, (it is) early stages and if there is something that works really well, tangibly for both parties...," he said.

He also highlighted that the number of Indian tourists to Saudi Arabia increased to 1.5 million last year and the second biggest population in Saudi Arabia after Saudis are Indian nationals.

India has long been a crucial part of Riyadh Air's network planning ahead of our operations launch later this year, he said in the release.

"As the world's first digital native airline, we are dedicated to partnering with entities across a variety of aviation stakeholders in India to create a sustainable, prosperous and mutually beneficial relationship that delivers exceptional travel experiences," Douglas said.

Riyadh Air has appointed Bird Travels as its exclusive distribution and sales partner in India.

India is one of the world's fastest-growing civil aviation markets.

The Saudi Tourism Authority aims to welcome 7.5 million visitors from India per annum by the close of the decade.

Currently, Riyadh Air has around 500 employees and out of them, the second largest number of staff after Saudis is Indians at 16 per cent. The present workforce includes 36 cabin crew members and 36 pilots.

As the airline prepares to start operations with at least three planes later this year, Douglas said it has received 1.4 million job applications from 146 nationalities and among them, 52 per cent applicants are women.

Douglas said the airline is in active campaign with Boeing and Airbus for extra wide-body planes, referring to B777Xs and A350-1000s, respectively.

Elaborating on the strategy of the carrier, he said there are three pillars -- environmental sustainability, obsessive attention to details and being digital native.

Initially, the airline will have a fleet of 60 narrow-body A321 neos and 72 wide-body B787-9 Dreamliners.

The carrier aims to connect Saudi Arabia to over 100 destinations globally by 2030, as per its website.