Riyadh Air, Saudia sign deal to offer joint training programs
Agreement to enable national carriers to integrate expertise, resources Saudi Arabia’s two national airlines will work together to train pilots, aircraft crews and other aviation employees thanks to a new deal.
Riyadh Air, the airline announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in March 2023, has reached an agreement with the Saudi Academy — affiliated with the Saudia Group.
The memorandum of cooperation, signed at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh, represents a turning point in specialized education in the field of aviation for Saudi Arabia’s national carriers, paving the way toward improving the training standards of pilots, aircraft crews and air operations, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The agreement will enable the two national carriers to integrate their expertise and resources to provide training programs covering a wide range of specializations, SPA report added. These programs will include technical training, aviation basics, and ground operations, as well as management principles, linguistic proficiency, and compliance with regulatory provisions and standards.
On the first day of the forum, Saudia Group signed an order for an additional 105 A320neo family planes, marking the largest aircraft deal with Airbus in the Kingdom’s history.
The $19 billion deal includes
A320neo and A321neo models. These aircraft will be distributed between Saudia and flyadeal, the group’s low-cost carrier.
Saudia will acquire 54 A321neo aircraft, while flyadeal will receive 12 A320neo and 39 A321neo aircraft. The group is set to receive the first aircraft in the first quarter of 2026.
The boost to Saudia’s fleet comes alongside the growth of the Kingdom’s second flag carrier, the Public Investment Fund-back Riyadh Air.
The aviation company ordered 39 Boeing 787-9 jets last year, with options for 33 more.
Riyadh Air is set to make its maiden flight in 2025, and establish routes to 100 countries by the end of the decade.
Saudi Arabia’s ambitions for its aviation sector have been set out in a new roadmap, detailing how the Kingdom plans to grow it into a $2 billion industry.
This includes focus on the business jet segment, including charter, private, and corporate aircrafts, and will support Saudi Arabia’s development as a global high-value enterprise and tourist destination.
The roadmap comes after Saudi Arabia revised its 2030 tourism target upward from 100 million to 150 million visitors in October 2023.
According to the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the aviation industry alone has enabled 241,000 jobs in the Kingdom and has contributed to supporting 717,000 jobs in tourism-related areas.
The authority revealed that the nation outperformed global aviation sector growth rates in 2023, achieving 123 percent of international pre-pandemic seat capacity compared with a worldwide and regional average recovery rate of 90 percent and 95 percent, respectively.