Saudia and Riyadh Air, the national flag carriers of the Kingdom, have signed a Strategic Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as part of an expansive agreement to include codeshare flights.
This move signifies a major milestone moment of collaborative strength in the KSA aviation ecosystem. The MoU is the first major agreement between the two airlines and it is set to lay the foundation for further cooperation in the future.
Along with strengthening the wider Saudi aviation ecosystem, the collaboration is intended to offer a comprehensive range of benefits for guests traveling globally to and from Saudi Arabia, as well as those traveling domestically within the Kingdom.
Tony Douglas CEO – Riyadh Air
“The MoU signing of this strategic collaboration shows a solid statement of intent from both airlines. Riyadh Air and Saudia will play a significant part in the growth of travel tourism within the Kingdom 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 takeoff in 2025.”
As part of the agreement, guests of both carriers will be able to take full advantage of each airline’s worldwide network through a comprehensive interline and codeshare agreement that will allow guests to seamlessly connect between sectors operated by either Saudia or Riyadh Air.
According to the statement, this means members of each carrier’s loyalty program will be able to earn points or credits when traveling on codeshare services operated by the other. This will be followed by a wider loyalty agreement in which guests can accrue or redeem points and receive elite-level benefits across both carrier’s global networks.
Saudia CEO, Capt. Ibrahim Koshy commented that, “We’re delighted to be working alongside Riyadh Air and look forward to seeing another Saudi carrier supporting the national aviation strategy and the Kingdom’s objectives in tourism. This is a historic moment in which we join forces to serve guests traveling from and to the Kingdom. Saudia and Riyadh Air will positively disrupt the industry as a whole and so we are proud to sign this MoU that signifies our partnership intent.”
