en.Wedoany.com Reported - Riyadh Air placed an order for 28 Boeing 787 Dreamliners at the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow, marking the first major order of the event. The new Saudi carrier exercised 28 options from a 2023 agreement, converting 20 of them from the mid-sized 787-9 to the stretched 787-10. This order brings the total firm orders for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to 67.

Riyadh Air also confirmed an additional order for six Airbus A350-1000s, bringing its firm commitments for the model to 31. This order stems from an agreement signed at the Paris Air Show in June 2025, covering up to 50 A350-1000s, split evenly between firm orders and options. Riyadh Air still holds 19 unexercised options for the model and will become the first Saudi Arabian carrier to operate the A350-1000.

Riyadh Air's 2023 agreement involved up to 72 Boeing 787-9s, comprising 39 firm orders and 33 options. With 28 options exercised, only five remain unexercised. The announcement also includes previously undisclosed purchases of 11 widebody aircraft. Riyadh Air chose to convert 20 787-9 options to the larger 787-10, the largest member of the Dreamliner family, measuring 68.3 meters in length and typically offering 50 more seats than the 787-9, while reducing fuel consumption and emissions by 25% compared to previous-generation aircraft.

Riyadh Air, already an operator of the 787-9 with seven aircraft in its fleet, will benefit from fleet commonality, including shared cockpit systems, training, and maintenance. The airline has not yet disclosed the seating configuration for the 787-10, but its current 787-9s are configured with 290 seats across business, premium economy, and economy classes. Stephanie Pope, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, stated that the 787-10 will be an excellent addition to Riyadh Air's fleet, advancing the airline's mission to become a world-class carrier offering exceptional passenger experiences.

The airline completed its first commercial flight in June 2026, just six weeks after commencing operations. The inaugural flight used a Boeing 787-9 connecting its hub at King Khalid International Airport (RUH) with London Heathrow Airport (LHR), just over three years after its founding in March 2023. According to ch-aviation data, the current fleet consists of seven Dreamliners, which will grow rapidly within the year. According to CEO Tony Douglas, the airline plans to operate eight aircraft by the end of July and aims to launch 22 destinations by March 2027. The route network has expanded rapidly since its June launch, with destinations such as Malaga (AGP), Madrid (MAD), and Kuala Lumpur (KUL) set to open this summer. Riyadh Air is also building a narrowbody fleet, having ordered 60 Airbus A321neo family aircraft in 2024, including a mix of A321neo and A321XLR variants, the latter with a range of up to 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 kilometers).