New Saudi carrier Riyadh Air will not have it easy on high intensity Middle East routes

New Saudi carrier Riyadh Air will not have it easy on high intensity Middle East routes

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s brand new national airline, Riyadh Air, will fly into immediate and intense competition with UAE and Gulf carriers already scaling up services into and out of the Kingdom. Riyadh Air was formally announced as Saudi Arabia’s new flagship earlier this week and tasked with the mission to expand its presence on high visibility long-haul routes. But intra-Gulf and other shorter haul destinations could still matter for the world’s newest carrier. (The actual launch dates for the airline have not been confirmed as yet.) “The presence of Riyadh Air will energise the aviation sector, stimulate competition, and improve connectivity to secondary cities,” said John Grant, Chief Analyst at global travel data provider OAG. “Although you could argue that this is already happening through the rapid advancements of low-cost carriers (like Wizz Air Abu Dhabi) in the Middle East. “The advantage I can see is that they (Air Riyadh) will have a huge domestic market that they can access which (other Gulf) carriers haven’t. Turkish Airlines is a close competitor. “To begin with, Riyadh Air will have a limited network, and perhaps limited access to peak slots at some airports around the globe. It will be a long time