Virgin Atlantic confirms partnership with Riyadh Air

Reuters/Dilara Senkaya

• Deal will ‘open new destinations’
• Includes Virgin’s London-Riyadh route
• Riyadh Air launches in 2025

Virgin Atlantic has signed a partnership with Riyadh Air, which will start when the new Saudi national carrier launches next year.

Riyadh Air has been expected to announce cooperation agreements with other operators. 

A statement said the partnership would open new destinations in Saudi Arabia and beyond, and would include Virgin’s London-Riyadh route, but gave no more details.

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“We will only be operating flights between London Heathrow and Riyadh but the partnership could include interline and codeshare connectivity with Riyadh Air’s network which includes destinations within Saudi,” Virgin said. 

The partnership is important for Riyadh Air as “it gives credibility to the airline in its launch”, said John Grant, partner at UK consultancy Midas Aviation and an AGBI columnist.

“Quite what Virgin are getting, except loads of cash to underwrite a route that will probably struggle, is questionable, and can they sustain a long-term service? Who knows,” he said.

Virgin Atlantic announced this week it will start daily flights to Riyadh from March next year, in a vote of confidence in Saudi Arabia’s economic expansion plans. 

“Riyadh is in growth mode, with an expanded downtown business district, F1 circuit, theme park, shopping and entertainment complexes,” the British carrier said in a statement, adding ticket sales would open on 12 September. 

Onward connections to China and Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan will be offered via an existing partnership with current Saudi national carrier Saudia, it said.  

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Only Saudia and British Airways currently offer direct flights between London and the rapidly expanding capital, which will host the World Expo 2030 and is the site of major tourism, residential and entertainment giga-projects as Saudi Arabia tries to diversify its economy. 

The Saudi travel sector is experiencing a huge expansion to help push tourism to 10 percent of GDP by 2030. Domestic airports are being privatised and more licences given to low-cost operators. 

Saudi Arabia’s total number of air passengers rose 26 percent to 112 million in 2023, including a 46 percent rise in the total number of international travellers to 61 million, but it faces stiff competition from Dubai, the region’s busiest airport. 

The kingdom established an Air Connectivity Program in 2021 to spearhead efforts to bring more international carriers to Saudi Arabia, which only opened up global tourism in recent years. 

Virgin Atlantic is one of 15 carriers that have agreed this year to start flights and is working on agreements for five more, Air Connectivity Program CEO Majid Khan said in comments this week. 

“Since the program started we have added 60 more destinations into the kingdom,” he said.