Riyadh Air to firm up 28 Boeing 787 orders, adds 787-10 variant

Riyadh Air and Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced at the Farnborough Airshow that the Saudi carrier will exercise options for 28 additional 787 Dreamliner jets, including a conversion of 20 of those aircraft to the larger 787-10 variant.

The agreement stems from Riyadh Air's 2023 order and includes a previously undisclosed purchase of 11 widebody jets. Once the remaining 17 aircraft are finalized, Riyadh Air's firm order count will reach 67 787 Dreamliners.

The airline currently operates six 787-9 jets and serves six cities. The 787-10 seats approximately 50 more passengers than the 787-9 and, according to Boeing, reduces fuel use and emissions by 25% compared to the aircraft it replaces.

Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air, said the addition of the 787-10 "strengthens our ability to accommodate growing passenger and cargo demand while providing the operational flexibility required to support our ambitious network plans."

Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the 787-10 "will be a great complement to Riyadh Air's growing fleet."

By operating both the 787-9 and 787-10, the carrier said it expects to benefit from fleet commonality, including shared flight deck systems, maintenance procedures, and pilot training.

Riyadh Air, wholly owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, said it aims to serve more than 100 destinations by 2030. The airline projects it will generate over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs and contribute more than $20 billion (SAR 75 billion) to Saudi Arabia's non-oil GDP by 2030.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Active options: NVDA TSLA SPCX MU AAPL INTC CRWV
• L3Harris opens $6M naval training facility in Providence, R.I.
• SEC files civil complaint against Netcapital and certain individuals