Riyadh Air will introduce the first Boeing 787-9 delivered under its own fleet order on flights between Riyadh and London Heathrow starting July 1, a milestone for the Saudi airline as it moves beyond the provisional operation launched last year with a leased aircraft.
Since beginning flights in October 2025, the carrier has operated with a single Boeing 787-9, registered HZ-RXX, leased from Avolon and previously flown by Oman Air. The aircraft allowed Riyadh Air to start commercial operations while preparing its permanent fleet, crews and onboard product.
HZ-RXX retains the original Oman Air cabin configuration, with 30 seats in business class and 258 seats in economy.
The newly delivered Riyadh Air aircraft will feature a completely different interior developed by the airline itself. The Boeing 787-9s ordered directly from Boeing are configured with four first class suites, 24 business class seats, 39 premium economy seats and 223 economy seats.
Riyadh Air has not detailed how many of its own 787s have already been delivered, but the Heathrow route will become the first scheduled service operated with the new cabin standard announced by the company.
Boeing 787 2026 | Riyadh Air Boeing 787 2026 | Riyadh Air
Created in 2023 by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Riyadh Air was established to support the kingdom’s ambition of turning Riyadh into a major global aviation hub linking Europe, Asia and Africa.
The airline aims to serve more than 100 destinations by 2030 and compete directly with established Gulf network carriers such as Emirates and Qatar Airways, which have dominated long-haul transit traffic in the region for decades.
So far, Riyadh Air has ordered 39 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, 60 Airbus A321neo narrowbody aircraft and 25 Airbus A350-1000 widebodies as it builds a long-haul international fleet almost entirely from scratch.
