Indians at forefront of Riyadh Air's 1.4 mn job applications: CEO Douglas

New airline Riyadh Air has received 1.4 million job applications in the past two years, with Indians comprising one of the largest nationality groups among applicants, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tony Douglas said on Wednesday.

 

He mentioned that almost 93 per cent of the air traffic between India and Saudi Arabia is point-to-point, and there is a huge scope of increasing flight frequencies between the two nations.

 

“Riyadh is massively underserved. There is no constraint in terms of bilateral air service agreements. The number of visitors from India to Saudi Arabia increased by 50 per cent in 2023. We would start flights to serve this point-to-point traffic,” he stated.

 

The Riyadh-based airline is expecting to start flight operations sometime later in 2025. It has ordered 72 B787 widebody planes from Boeing and 60 A320neo narrowbody planes from Airbus.

 

Douglas expressed his surprise at the number of job applications that have come to the airline.

 

“We have a website, and in the careers page, it invites pilots, cabin crew members, ground staff, etc. It allows you to upload details. It is a structured protocol and takes over five minutes to fill in the details. Our website has been active for over two years now. We have had 1.4 million applicants till now from 146 different nationalities. It is absolutely phenomenal,” he mentioned.

 

“The number of Indian applicants is massive. They are definitely one of the biggest groups of applicants,” he stated.

 

Douglas said that if one had asked him two years ago about how many applications he was expecting to receive, he would have guessed not more than 15,000-20,000.

 

“This is the power of our brand. We deliberately went out to create something that stood out in the crowd,” he stated.

 

Riyadh Air currently has around 500 employees, including approximately 36 cabin crew members, and 36 pilots. Saudis make up the largest nationality, while Indians, comprising about 16 per cent of the workforce, are the second-largest group.

 

Douglas said that the aforementioned job applications have come without the company announcing any salary packages yet.

 

Riyadh Air is actively engaged in an extra-widebody aircraft campaign, considering the Boeing 777-9X and the Airbus A350-1000. Once the selection process is complete, the airline will announce its chosen manufacturer. The campaign is progressing swiftly, with a strong push to conclude it as soon as possible, he said.

 

The airline's first aircraft, Jamila, was initially a technical spare. To commence operations on any route, Riyadh Air requires a minimum of three aircraft. The airline has ambitious plans to connect 100 cities within the next five years, with the primary constraint being the speed at which Boeing and Airbus can deliver new aircraft, he added.

 

Riyadh Air will not operate Embraer aircraft, with the Airbus A321 being the smallest in its fleet. The airline will deploy A321LRneos and A321neos, with the LR (long range) variant offering extended range. The cabin design for these aircraft will be revealed in the next two months, Douglas noted.

 

The airline's route network will include capital and secondary cities in Europe, major US cities, key destinations within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and underserved markets in the Far East, particularly from Riyadh. Riyadh Air is committed to offering only daily services on its routes, as the airline believes anything less does not provide meaningful connectivity, he stated.

 

Regarding partnerships, Douglas emphasised that the airline sees India as a crucial market. Riyadh Air is actively engaging with potential codeshare partners to fill gaps in its network, particularly in north-western Europe and India. Discussions are underway with both IndiGo and Air India, with the airline exploring options that could be mutually beneficial, he said.