An Arab airline will soon be competing with Swiss. But Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways are also coming under pressure from Riyadh Air.
In a few months, Saudi Arabia’s new national airline, Riyadh Air, plans to take off – with ambitions that extend far beyond the Saudi kingdom.
Official flights are scheduled to begin at the end of 2025 and, as muula.ch has learned from company sources, Switzerland will also be served.
Pilgrims and tourists
The airline was founded in 2023 by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) with the aim of serving more than 100 destinations across six continents.
In addition to London and Paris in Western Europe, the focus is also on Dubai and the Saudi port city of Jeddah.
The many millions of annual pilgrims to Mecca and Medina are at the forefront of this. But more and more tourists are also discovering the exciting kingdom with its many UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
High demand even without alcohol
Swiss airline Swiss could face new competition from Riyadh Air in Asia and the Middle East, where Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways already offer outstanding products.
Saudi airline Saudia already serves Zurich and Geneva airports and, according to reports, is often fully booked, even without any alcohol on board.
4K screens for everyone
The new Arab airline with its lavender-themed design also wants to offer top-notch service.
On board, there are outstanding seats and 4K screens for all passengers.
The premium classes feature a 1-2-1 seat configuration. Even economy class is not crammed full, with 3-3-3 seating.
Free high-speed internet goes without saying.
The finest cuisine
From booking to the end of the journey, Riyadh Air wants to set new industry standards in digitalization with artificial intelligence (AI).
As always in Arabia, the food is to be of the finest quality. This will enable the new Gulf airline to compete with market leaders such as Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways.
Swiss, however, can only dream of all this – even with its planned product upgrades.
Brand-new aircraft
Riyadh Air’s fleet will consist of an impressive 182 of the latest Airbus and Boeing jets.
The A321neo are for short and medium-haul flights, and there will also be dozens of A350-1000 and 787-9 Dreamliners for long-haul flights.
The launch will be small, with just a few aircraft.
However, starting in 2026, a new aircraft is expected to join the fleet every month, with a dense network of the planned 100 destinations within reach by 2030.
So, things have been moving rapidly since the company was founded.
Around 200,000 new jobs
Those holding the money are not expanding the existing Saudia airline, but are founding a completely new airline.
Riyadh Air is expected to contribute $20 billion annually to Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy and create 200,000 jobs.
The CEO of Riyadh Air is Tony Douglas, who has been leading the project since 2022. He comes from Etihad in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and has decades of expertise in airline operations.
Well-known code-share partners
Riyadh Air will poach customers from Swiss, Edelweiss, Lufthansa & Co in another way.
The new airline from the Saudi capital Riyadh has already secured numerous partnerships.
Air France-KLM, Singapore Airlines, Delta, Egyptair, and Turkish Airlines all are cooperation partners in establishing a global route network.
In future, Swiss travelers could also choose Riyadh Air over Swiss when flying via Paris, Amsterdam, Singapore, Istanbul, etc., even if the new carrier does not fly directly to Switzerland.
Connecting Switzerland with the world
Switzerland plays an important role in the international aviation landscape – as an economic center, financial hub, and tourist destination.
A new premium carrier such as Riyadh Air, which focuses on business trends, could well attract interest from travelers between Switzerland, the Gulf States, Asia, and America.
This is especially true with an attractive codeshare strategy or indirect connections via hubs or directly to the legendary Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
And Swiss has long since left its golden days behind, as muula.ch reported.
Apart from saving money, the Lufthansa parent company continues to lose altitude anyway.
09.08.2025/kut./ena.
