Riyadh Air Unveils Striking Livery with Historic Flyby Alongside Air Force Jet

Riyadh Air officially unveiled the airline’s new indigo livery with a historic flyby over the Saudi Arabian capital.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft flew at low-altitude across Riyadh’s iconic skyline, passing over its hub at King Khalid International Airport (KHU) followed by the King Abdullah Financial District, the Kingdom Tower and the Al Faisaliah Tower.

Accompanied by a jet from the Royal Saudi Air Force’s display team, the Saudi Hawks, the Dreamliner, took to the skies at 1pm local time on June 12, 2023.

The new carrier has been ramping up the excitement on its social media pages over the last few days as it counted down the hours before the flyby.

“Today is the day! Keep your eyes on the Riyadh Sky to glimpse the #RiyadhAir indigo livery at 1 pm. We’ll be flying across the capital at a low altitude accompanied by a jet from @saudihawks,” the airline wrote in its latest Twitter post.

Although the flyby marked the official unveiling of the new livery, photos of the striking indigo design have been widely seen after the airline shared images on of the aircraft on June 4, 2023.

A Boeing 787-9 sporting the new colors was also spotted flying out of Portland International Airport (PDX), Oregon, in the United States (US).

The airline’s CEO Tony Douglas recently told journalists at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in June 2023 that Riyadh Air will not offer first class seats when it begins operations in 2025.

“We will offer business, premium economy, and economy on our long-haul jets but not first,” he said.

Riyadh Air is owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) and was founded in March 2023.

Riyadh Air will launch its new fleet with up to 72 787-9 Dreamliners and has become Saudi Arabia’s second national airline after SAUDIA.