Saudi Arabia’s newest airline, Riyadh Air, is studying an order for as many as 30 additional Boeing 787 Dreamliners, according to industry sources cited Monday, a move that would deepen the kingdom’s push to turn itself into a global travel hub and hand Boeing a fresh vote of confidence. An announcement could come as soon as the Farnborough International Airshow, which opens July 20, though the sources cautioned that talks were still ongoing. Riyadh Air and Boeing declined to comment.
The airline is weighing an order for between 25 and 30 aircraft, and the deal would largely convert existing options into firm commitments rather than create an entirely new purchase. Riyadh Air agreed in 2023 to buy 39 Boeing 787-9s, with options for another 33 jets. Exercising 25 to 30 of those options would lift its firm Dreamliner count to between 64 and 69 aircraft, leaving as few as eight options on the table.
The timing is notable. Riyadh Air only began flying commercially in June, launching its first route from the Saudi capital to London Heathrow with a Boeing 787-9. Chief Executive Tony Douglas, who previously ran Etihad Airways from 2018 to 2022, said at launch that deliveries would grow the fleet to eight aircraft by the end of July and allow the carrier to serve 22 destinations by March 2027. Converting options now would give the airline the metal it needs to hit far more ambitious targets.
Those targets are steep. Riyadh Air is owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund and was established in 2023 as the kingdom’s second national carrier alongside flag airline Saudia. It aims to serve more than 100 destinations by 2030. The airline is a centerpiece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy away from oil, an effort that also targets 330 million annual passengers across the country by the end of the decade.
Boeing would welcome the business. The American planemaker has spent recent years working to rebuild airline and investor confidence after a stretch of production and safety setbacks, and a firm Gulf order would strengthen its widebody backlog and support thousands of U.S. manufacturing jobs tied to the Dreamliner program. Large orders from cash-rich Gulf carriers have become some of the most closely watched prizes in commercial aviation, and both Boeing and Europe’s Airbus have competed aggressively for them.
Riyadh Air has spread its bets between the two manufacturers so far. Alongside its Boeing Dreamliners, the carrier ordered 60 Airbus A321neo family narrowbody jets in 2024 and signed a firm agreement for 25 Airbus A350-1000 widebody aircraft at the Paris Air Show in June 2025. A move to concentrate more widebody flying on the 787 would give Boeing an edge on fleet commonality as the airline scales up.
The potential order is part of a broader Saudi buying spree. Flag carrier Saudia has separately been in early talks with both Boeing and Airbus over a possible purchase of at least 150 narrowbody and widebody jets, which would rank as its largest order ever. Together, the two airlines represent one of the biggest sources of new aircraft demand anywhere in the world, and manufacturers are racing to lock in the business.
For Boeing, the business implications reach well beyond a single airline. Every firm Dreamliner commitment adds to a production pipeline that feeds suppliers, engine makers, and financing partners across the United States and Europe. A Gulf order announced on the world stage at Farnborough would also send a signal to other carriers that confidence in the 787 program is intact.
For Saudi Arabia, the calculation is about far more than airplanes. Aviation and tourism sit at the heart of the kingdom’s plan to remake its economy, and a fast-growing airline with a modern widebody fleet is central to drawing tens of millions of new visitors. Whether the order lands at Farnborough or later, the direction is clear: the Gulf is spending heavily to buy its way into the front rank of global aviation, and the world’s two dominant planemakers are the ones collecting the checks.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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