Overview
- Riyadh Air and Boeing announced the exercise of options for 28 additional 787 Dreamliners and the conversion of 20 of those into the larger 787‑10 variant, a step the carrier says will raise its firm 787 count to 67 once all aircraft are finalized.
- Company statements emphasize fleet commonality between 787‑9 and 787‑10 for shared flight decks, maintenance and pilot training to cut costs and simplify operations.
- Industry reporting indicates Riyadh Air has also firmed six more Airbus A350‑1000s, taking that commitment to 31 aircraft, though sourcing for the A350 update is more limited than the Boeing announcement.
- Riyadh Air has taken delivery of six 787‑9s and currently serves six cities, and the airline frames the new orders as capacity and range enablers for rapid international network growth tied to Saudi Vision 2030.
- The carrier, owned by the Public Investment Fund, projects the fleet expansion will support job creation and non‑oil GDP growth and says the 787‑10 will add roughly 50 seats over the 787‑9 and cut fuel use and emissions compared with the aircraft it replaces.