Riyadh Air To Start Riyadh-London Service From July 1, 2026; Public Bookings Now Open

Riyadh Air is finally going public!

In October 2025, the Saudi Arabian carrier soft launched flights between Riyadh (RUH) and London-Heathrow (LHR). However, only a number of company and Public Investment Fund (PIF) employees were allowed to fly back and forth between the two cities.

Sometimes plans don’t go as scheduled, and Riyadh Air was forced to push back their public launch timeline as a result of delayed aircraft deliveries. To keep the process going, the carrier leased a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner from Oman Air which it used as its test bed to conduct certification exercises and crew familiarization flights.

More importantly, they secured extremely high demand slots at London Heathrow Airport, and needed to maintain these slots based on the 80/20 rule. This meant the carrier would need to service these slots for at least 80% of the allotted time, or risk losing the rights to them. For this reason, they’ve been flying employees back and forth, and using that time to build up certification hours.

Rather than rushing to launch service with the Oman Air 787 (with a mismatched hard product), Riyadh Air opted to wait for the delivery of their first aircraft. With that plane (registered HZ-RXAA) now slated to join the fleet shortly, the carrier has finally set a date for its first public flight.

They will start public operations from July 1, 2026 between Riyadh and London, and expect to announce more destinations in the near future. Tickets for their “inaugural” flight are already available for purchase via their website.

Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air, said, “Today marks a truly exciting milestone for Riyadh Air as we introduce our new aircraft and signature premium experience on our established London route. It demonstrates our deep commitment to delivering a truly world-class journey for our guests, one that blends exceptional comfort, cutting-edge technology and our distinctive Saudi ‘Hafawa’ hospitality from the moment they step on board.

“Connecting Saudi Arabia with the UK directly and beyond through our growing network of global destinations including Jeddah, Cairo and Dubai, sits at the very heart of what we are building at Riyadh Air and the Kingdom’s ambitions under Vision 2030. We look forward to welcoming our guests aboard to experience the future of air travel.”

The airline has placed an order for 60 Airbus A321neos, 25 Airbus A350-1000s and 40 Boeing 787-9s.

Their Boeing 787-9s will have four cabins: Business Elite, Business, Premium Economy, and Economy. Business Elite and Business use a fully flat 1-2-1 layout, while Premium Economy is arranged 2-3-2 and Economy is 3-3-3. All seats include Bluetooth audio and physical audio jacks. Business cabins add AC power, USB-C and USB-A charging, and headrest audio; Premium Economy includes privacy headrest wings, extra storage, expandable surfaces, and four USB-C ports; Economy includes adjustable headrests and two USB-C ports.

The aircraft will use Panasonic Avionics’ Astrova in-flight entertainment system. Riyadh Air says the content library will include more than 500 movies, 600 TV series, and 1,000 audio albums and playlists, with programming from partners including Shahid, Disney+, HBO Max, and Warner Bros. The system supports Bluetooth audio, USB-C charging, mobile-first connectivity, and higher-resolution seatback screens.

Starting fares on the July 1st flight range around $950 for Economy Lite fares, while business class hovers around $6,500. Of course, first day fares are much higher as everyone including media, influencers and enthusiasts want to be on that flight, with lower fare averages on flights just a week later.  

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