The Saudi Arabian government's planned new carrier will now be known as Riyadh Air rather than RIA. The new carrier, backed by some $30 billion from the government, will be a second flag carrier that handles long-haul international flights from its base at Riaydh (RUH) using Boeing 787-9 equipment. The Saudi government hopes Riyadh Air will fly to 100 destinations by 2030; the carrier faces stiff competition in the neighborhood from Emirates (ZCQF) and Qatar Airways (QYCF). Current flag-carrier Saudia (SAFF) will transition to handling mostly domestic and short-haul flights from its based at Jeddah (JED).
These big plans call for airplanes to fly them, and the Saudi government on March 14 announced a massive deal with Boeing , worth over $37 billion at list prices, for 78 787 aircraft. Riyadh Air is set to receive 39 787-9s, with options for 33 more frames, while Saudia will get 39 of the longer 787-10, with options for another 10.