Saudi Arabia's New Airline Just Applied to Fly to America

Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia's second flag carrier and one of the most closely watched aviation startups in recent memory, filed a formal application with the United States Department of Transportation on May 5, 2026, seeking a foreign air carrier permit and exemption authority to operate scheduled and charter services between the Kingdom and the United States. The filing moves the airline one significant step closer to the transatlantic ambitions at the core of its founding vision, but it arrives against a backdrop of compounding delays, including an FAA certification hold on its new Boeing 787-9 aircraft that has already pushed back the carrier's commercial launch timeline once more.

What the Application Covers

Riyadh Air has applied to the US Department of Transportation for authority to fly to the USA, a move coming as the newly started airline prepares to execute a plan of rapid international expansion. 

The airline applied for a foreign air carrier permit and exemption authority on Tuesday. Attorneys representing Riyadh Air asked the DOT to handle the request "promptly," under streamlined licensing procedures. 

The authority requested covers flights from any points in Saudi Arabia to any points in the USA. "Riyadh Air anticipates launching nonstop service from Saudi Arabia to the United States upon receipt of all required government approvals," the airline says. It has not yet specified which US cities it plans to serve, though New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC are widely expected to feature among its initial American destinations based on slot filings and industry analysis. 

The carrier is seeking expedited approval from the DOT, which would allow it to begin operations in the US once aircraft deliveries are secured and final regulatory clearances are in place.

The Aircraft Problem Holding Everything Back

The DOT application is legally and commercially necessary, but it is not the primary obstacle standing between Riyadh Air and its first transatlantic service. That obstacle is Boeing.

The commercial launch of Riyadh Air is facing delays because of hold-ups in certification of its new jets by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The airline was supposed to start taking delivery of its Boeing 787 widebody aircraft last year, but only a handful of the planes have been assembled.

The company received its air operator certificate from Saudi Arabia's aviation regulator in February 2025. Its regulatory filing says the airline has already started flights between Riyadh and London. The carrier is not yet selling tickets on its website, but other news outlets have reported that tickets are available for sale on some travel-booking sites.

The aircraft currently being used for those London flights is not one of Riyadh Air's own ordered 787-9s. It launched flights to London Heathrow in October, but service remains limited and is only open to company officials. The single Boeing 787-9 registered HZ-RXX and named "Jamila", leased from Oman Air, has been the workhorse for those limited proving operations, which form part of the airline's "Pathway to Perfect" testing programme designed to validate operational readiness before full commercial services begin. 

Despite repeated indications that its first new-build aircraft were arriving imminently, the carrier has yet to take delivery of any aircraft from its backlog of firm orders. 

What Riyadh Air Has Ordered

The order book underpinning Riyadh Air's 100-destination ambition is substantial, on paper. The fleet will consist of three aircraft types: 60 Airbus A321neo, 25 Airbus A350-1000, and 39 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. 

Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Civil Aviation permitted Riyadh Air to fly its mix of Boeing and Airbus planes.

Since 2023, Riyadh Air has received $3 billion in capital contributions from the Government of Saudi Arabia. That level of state financial backing, channelled through the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund that owns the airline in its entirety, gives Riyadh Air the financial runway to absorb delays that would be existential for a privately funded startup. It does not, however, accelerate Boeing's production or the FAA's certification processes. 

Riyadh Air's Planned Network and the US Fit

Slot filings for the northern summer 2026 season show Riyadh Air targeting up to 15 destinations from its Riyadh base, including London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Mumbai, alongside regional routes across the Middle East and Asia. The airline has also recently confirmed that Jeddah, Madrid and Manchester will form part of its initial network rollout. 

Other destinations reportedly under consideration include Paris, Madrid, Manchester, Cairo, and Dubai. Riyadh Air expects to connect over 100 destinations by 2030. 

The US market sits at the apex of that global expansion plan. Saudi Arabia and the United States have a bilateral air services agreement that provides the legal framework within which Riyadh Air's DOT permit application operates. The US is not only one of the largest long-haul aviation markets in the world, but it is also strategically important to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 tourism ambitions, which target a significant increase in American visitors to the Kingdom.

Riyadh Air Planned US Routes 

Note: Riyadh Air has not officially announced specific US city pairs, departure times or flight numbers. All details below are based on slot filing analysis, industry reporting, and the US-Saudi bilateral air services framework. Final routes are subject to DOT permit approval and FAA aircraft certification.

Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 (HZ-RXX, leased from Oman Air, currently in proving service). New-build Boeing 787-9 aircraft pending FAA certification and delivery. Fleet ultimately to include 39 Boeing 787-9, 60 Airbus A321neo, and 25 Airbus A350-1000. Passengers should monitor riyadhair.com for confirmed booking availability.

The Competitive Landscape in the US-Saudi Market

According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Saudia is the sole operator of nonstop service between Saudi Arabia and the US. Saudia currently operates nonstop flights between Riyadh and Washington Dulles, as well as Los Angeles and New York from Jeddah. Riyadh Air's entry into the market would break that monopoly and introduce competitive pressure on fares and frequencies on what remains one of the most commercially significant, underserved bilateral corridors in long-haul aviation.

Riyadh Air has codeshare agreements with SkyTeam members Delta Air Lines, China Eastern Airlines, Saudia, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic, and Star Alliance members Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Air China and Egyptair. Those codeshare relationships with Delta in particular will give Riyadh Air immediate access to the US domestic feed network, a critical advantage for a new transatlantic entrant that does not yet have a domestic US presence.

What the Investigation Means and What Comes Next

The DOT's review of a foreign air carrier permit application is typically a procedural matter when the applicant country has a valid bilateral agreement with the United States, as Saudi Arabia does. The expedited handling request submitted by Riyadh Air's attorneys signals the airline's desire to have the permit in place as a completed regulatory milestone, ready to be activated the moment its first purpose-built 787-9 is delivered and its wider FAA certification issues are resolved.

For now, the timeline remains fluid. The DOT application is in progress. The FAA certification of new-build 787-9s continues on a timeline that Boeing has not yet clarified publicly. The leased single aircraft continues conducting proving operations between Riyadh and London. And the airline that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced to the world in March 2023 with an order for 72 Boeing 787s remains, more than three years later, waiting for the aircraft that were supposed to define its launch.