Riyadh Air Won’t Offer First Class

Riyadh Air Won’t Offer First Class

Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new national airline, is expected to launch operations in 2024. Up until now, we haven’t known what to expect from the carrier’s onboard product, though here’s a noteworthy update.

The Telegraph has a story about the different approaches that airlines are taking to offering a first-class products. Along those lines, Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas has shared some details about what Riyadh Air has in store for passengers.

Douglas states that on long-haul jets, Riyadh Air intends to have three cabins, including business class, premium economy, and economy. That’s right, Riyadh Air won’t offer first class.

As a reminder, the airline has ordered up to 72 Boeing 787-9 (including 39 firm orders and 33 options). The airline is expected to soon place a narrow body order as well, with the airline reportedly leaning toward the Boeing 737 MAX.

Riyadh Air is arguably the most ambitious airline project we’ve ever seen. The airline hopes to become the size of Emirates but in a quarter the amount of time. Okay, admittedly the project is ambitious in terms of the projected growth, though it’s not that hard to grow when you have seemingly unlimited funds from the Saudi government.

On the one hand, it