Riyadh Air to add Heathrow flights as more aircraft arrive

Riyadh Air will lift its service between the Saudi capital and London Heathrow from one flight a day to nine a week starting 2 November. The carrier's chief executive, Tony Douglas, said the extra flights are intended to match rising demand on the route.

The airline expects to receive three additional Boeing 787-9s within weeks, along with its first Airbus A321neo before the end of the year. It presently flies eight aircraft to 14 destinations and aims to sell tickets to nearly 30 cities by the close of this year.

At the Farnborough air show in July, Riyadh Air firmed orders for 28 more 787s, 20 of which were switched to the larger -10 variant, and six extra A350-1000s. That brought its firm commitments to 67 787s and 31 A350s, with 60 A321neos also on order.

Delivery delays affecting its owned widebody aircraft led the airline to begin flying with a leased 787. It accepted its first two owned 787-9s in June and had seven in the fleet by the end of July. Douglas has said receiving several widebodies at once was preferable to a monthly arrival schedule, describing it as a problem the carrier is glad to have.