Riyadh Air, the new Saudi Arabian airline set to begin commercial flights in 2025, is looking to solidify its commitment to technology and sustainability.
According to CEO Tony Douglas, even though the airline is still two years from launch, it is committed to generate excitement by telling its story. “As a start-up, we have a super exciting opportunity to tell a story about what this brand is all about and what people should expect for it over time.”
The other reason however is to solidify the airline’s position as being digital first.
“We’re doing it through digital channels in particular because we have no legacy. We’re going to present ourselves as the world’s first truly digital airline.”
A McKinsey study showed that the Middle East has among the highest consumer digital engagement in the world and overall digital adoption – the average of users in each industry who have interacted with it through digital or remote channels – stands at 78 per cent.
This presents an opportunity for carriers like Riyadh Air who can appeal to a digitally savvy population, enabling the airline to introduce new tech with less friction.
During the Paris Air Show, Riyadh Air unveiled its striking purple livery. Douglas described it as “the kind of thing you’d expect to see on the front of Vogue. It’s stunning, it’s very stylish.”
However, this is just the first of two livery designs, with the second to be revealed later this year, as part of a “tease and reveal” strategy. The airline plans to engage with its audience through social media, building anticipation and curiosity as milestones are reached. He also added that their ‘tease and reveal’ strategy will help build curiousity and anticipation about the passenger experience.
When asked whether the airline would be incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), Douglas replied with “a very bold yes.”
In an interview with Al Arabiya, Douglas explained how the composition of Riyadh Air opens a world of possibilities in this area. “One thing we have which is an absolute gift is no legacy. We don’t have any old-fashioned systems which have developed over a long period of time and therefore always make it difficult to change. Because of that, we’ll be using AI, we’ll be using chatbots, we’ll be integrating it to make it a digital native in the same way you and the citizens, particularly here, in one of the most digitally connected nations in the world are used to be doing just about everything else in their lifestyle.”
Douglas also highlighted that Riyadh Air will have one of the world’s most modern fleets with modern engines and composite airframes making the aircraft up to 25 per cent more fuel efficient than their predecessors. The airline is committed to work with a variety of technologies to reduce its CO2 emissions.
Although the specifics have not yet been widely shared, Douglas has already built high expectations in the field saying. At the Paris Air Show he also said, “It will be commercial aviation sustainability that will differentiate the winners and the losers, and anybody who doesn’t take it seriously will probably fail. We like to think in the future, people will look at Riyadh Air as a thought leader when it comes to aviation sustainability.”
