Photo: Courtesy of Riyadh Air

Riyadh Air, owned by the Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, said it is considering launching direct flights to China, linking with major first -tier Chinese cities such as Beijing in 2026.

Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air made the remark in a group interview in Beijing recently. 

Riyadh Air has no intention competing with Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways for transfer passengers, and it aims to improve the connectivity to the world and promote economic growth in Saudi Arabia, Douglas said. 

Douglas said direct flights from Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia to the world were inadequate, especially to China, adding that it is inconvenient for the large Chinese community based in the country to return to Riyadh given the absence of direct flights.

Douglas said the company is discussing with the Chinese aviation regulator and carriers to see how to provide better services to open up more corridors between China and Saudi Arabia. 

"We hope to launch a direct flying from Riyadh to Beijing in 2026, and we also hope to see more flights to others cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu," he said. 

The airline in March announced its first aircraft order, purchasing a fleet of 39 Boeing 787 wide-body jets, with options for 33 more in the future. Riyadh Air is also in talks with manufacturers for a fleet of narrow-body jets, which Douglas said should allow Riyadh Air to serve more than 100 destinations by the end of the decade, FT reported in August. 

Currently, Saudi Arabia is implementing its '2030 Vision' to accelerate economic diversification. It plans to focus on the development of aviation, automobiles, shipbuilding, infrastructure and digital infrastructure, optimize the economic model that relies solely on energy exports, and attract upstream and downstream industries with large projects. 

For Riyadh Air, it is about first catching up and improving connectivity between Riyadh and other cities, at the same time maintaining its revenue growth, because Saudi Arabia's economy is growing rapidly, he said.