Saudi Arabia’s two national carriers, Riyadh Air and Saudia have entered a partnership that will start with a codeshare agreement, but go on to include much more collaborative efforts. The pair of Kingdom carriers announced the deal at the Dubai Airshow taking place in the emirate this week.
Along with codeshares, the deal will see each carrier’s loyalty program sync up so that travelers will be able to earn points or credits when traveling on codeshare services operated by the other.
Riyadh Air “Raising The Bar”
Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas stated: “Riyadh Air and Saudia will play a significant part in the growth of travel tourism within the Kingdom and so having the national carriers working side-by-side is the best way to accelerate and manage this growth.”
“We are confident that Riyadh Air will raise the bar in air travel and working in cooperation with Saudia will help us achieve this as we prepare for take-off in 2025.”
Riyadh Air was launched earlier this year by the Kingdom’s crown prince, looking to connect to 100 destinations by 2030 and significantly support the country’s lofty 150 million visitor goal that same year. Headed by the former chief of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, the carrier says it will create 200,000 jobs by the end of the decade and contribute billions to the local economy.