LONDON: Saudi startup Riyadh Air is re-entering the jet market after securing orders for numerous Airbus and Boeing aircraft and plans to seal a fresh agreement involving the industry's most extensive twin-aisle jets by early next year, according to its CEO.

The kingdom's latest national carrier is evaluating the Boeing 777X and the Airbus A350-1000 and anticipates reaching a conclusion in either the first or second quarter of 2025, CEO Tony Douglas informed Reuters.

Riyadh Air, in the previous year, placed an order for 39 Boeing 787 wide-body jets with options for an additional 33 as part of a broader deal that also included national carrier Saudia. Last week, it confirmed an order for 60 Airbus A321neo-family planes.

Douglas refrained from commenting on the scale of the new order but emphasized that the airline, set to commence operations next year, ultimately aims to operate over 200 aircraft.

In a separate interview with Reuters last week, Douglas revealed that Riyadh Air would initiate formal discussions for a new order of large wide-body aircraft within two months.

The approximately 200-seat A321neo is a highly sought-after single-aisle aircraft that competes with the larger variants of the Boeing 737 MAX. Airbus reports that it is fully booked for the remainder of the decade.

Despite extended lead times for most new acquisitions, Douglas stated that the A321neos would be delivered between the second half of 2026 and the end of 2030, hinting at potential further purchases.

"This places us firmly within the standard order window with Airbus, so the door remains wide open," he noted.

Industry insiders revealed that the aircraft became available as part of a sophisticated financing deal driven by the availability of future delivery slots initially allocated to Capital A unit AirAsia, which has been reorganizing its order book.

Airbus declined to comment, and AirAsia did not respond to a request for comment.

Douglas declined to elaborate on the deal's structure, merely describing it as a "complex multi-party transaction."

The rapid expansion of Riyadh Air, owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, is among the industry's swiftest launches.

Douglas explained that the A321neo would be utilized to open new routes or operate in sectors where there is insufficient demand to fill the 290-seat Boeing 787-9, noting that economically, it would not make sense to fly such large jets less than three-quarters full.

Riyadh Air has not yet determined which version of the A321neo to acquire but is likely to include some long-haul models, he added.

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