Saudi Arabia is investing around 30 billion US dollars in setting up a new airline. The new company is to be launched this year under the name "RIA". Initially, they want to serve regional routes with Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-Max.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is investing around 100 billion US dollars in improving air transport connections. Subsidies are given to existing carriers and a completely new airline is launched with RIA. With the investment, the state wants to ensure that more tourists come to the oil-rich desert state.

With RIA, they also want to take the butter off their neighbors' bread a little, because they will pursue a business model comparable to Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways. To put it simply: a large air traffic hub is to be built in Riyadh. It is currently suspected in Saudi Arabia that the additional service offered by the competition from neighboring countries can be used to lure passengers away in a targeted manner. This will probably be done in the initial phase with particularly cheap promotional tickets.

The government of Saudi Arabia provides the necessary "small change" through the state Public Investment Fund. In July 2022, he founded a group-owned leasing company called Avi Lease. The planes are to be leased to RIA through this company. The first flight is currently planned for the fourth quarter of the current year. One is also looking for a company boss and according to local reports, the current Etihad boss Tony Douglas should have the best cards.

According to the current state of affairs, the activities in Riyadh should not have any impact on the existing airline Saudia. This maintains a hub in Jeddah. In addition, Flyadeal is a low-cost airline. Flynas is also a competitor in this segment. In the future, they want to have a RIA hub in Riyadh and Jeddah should continue to have that of Saudia.