Heathrow has seen some strange aircraft operations. In 2005, Qantas paid for a small regional jet to fly from the London airport to Manchester each morning, sit on the ground all day and return each evening. Ostensibly it carried a handful of passengers. The main aim: to protect precious slots, those permissions to take off and land at specific times.
Two years later, British Mediterranean flew empty jets between Heathrow and Cardiff six times a week. Under the “use them or lose them” policy for slots, there is no penalty for such wasteful behaviour. Indeed, it is rewarded under the rules by allowing the airline to keep the slots.
Starting later this month, another unusual arrival is expected to turn up from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia each morning at 7.30am. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner carries the colours of Saudi startup Riyadh Air. But the plane is actually owned by Oman Air. It has been leased to Riyadh Air as a “technical spare” – and even has a name, Jamila.
Riyadh Air, founded by the nation’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has lofty ambitions. “We will be, for sure, a super-connector,” says Tony Douglas, the chief executive. His airline has 182 aircraft on order and plans, within five years, to be flying from the capital to 100 or more destinations.
“We aim to permanently transcend our guests’ perceptions and experiences of flying in the modern world,” Mr Douglas says. But he has been dealt a difficult hand. Delays in deliveries of the airline’s initial 787 aircraft meant that Jamila had to be brought in for the initial link between Riyadh and London Heathrow, to fill the precious slot the airline has acquired.
The route already sees strong competition, with British Airways, Saudia and Virgin Atlantic between them offering five flights a day, each way. Yet you will search in vain to book a flight on Riyadh Air. Initially, seats will be sold only to employees of the airline and the PIF. That is a narrow customer base, but the “soft launch” aims to iron out glitches in the operation while waiting for the fresh new aircraft equipped with the promised state-of-the-art interiors.
“By introducing the aircraft now as a technical spare, it allows Riyadh Air to start services as soon as possible, once the first two B787-9 aircraft are delivered later in 2025,” the carrier says. The startup plan is underway; what about, though, the end game?
Some background: Saudi Arabia is diversifying its economy. As it is the biggest country in Arabia, 10 times the size of Britain, tourism is seen as a huge opportunity. Billions of dollars are being ploughed into new infrastructure, from the Neom project on the Red Sea coast to attractions in the capital.
The first task of CEO Tony Douglas is to improve connectivity for Riyadh. The capital has no direct links with three key world cities to the east: Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney. “There’s a market here that is totally underserved,” he says.
As these and many more routes are added, connectivity will increase. At present only one in 10 passengers arriving at Riyadh is connecting, compared with as many as nine out of 10 at Gulf hubs.
Competition has proved extremely beneficial for passengers: between the UK and many Asian nations, travellers can choose from connections at Dubai on Emirates, at Doha on Qatar Airways and at Abu Dhabi on Etihad (which Mr Douglas used to run). These are the Middle East Big Three (MEB3); the aim is to add a fourth, in the shape of Riyadh Air.
Prospective travellers who are accustomed to the abundance of alcohol on the MEB3 cannot expect the same on Riyadh Air – yet. “We will follow the law of the land,” Tony Douglas says. “Should the law change, we will reflect and adopt accordingly.”
On the subject of statutes: discrimination against women is enshrined in Saudi law: they require a male guardian’s permission to marry, and are obliged to obey their husband. The UK Foreign Office says: “Same-sex relations are illegal.” And in 2019, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights concluded that the Saudi state was responsible for the “premeditated extrajudicial execution” of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Other regimes in the region are not exactly paragons of liberal democracy. Travellers will decide whether or not to fly on Riyadh Air. But some, at least, will be glad to have more choice. The question for them: how soon will they be able to check in at Heathrow to check out the service to Riyadh?
