The CEO of Riyadh Aviation, Tony Douglas, said today, Monday, that the Saudi emerging airline is ready to buy Boeing aircraft designated for Chinese companies if they are not delivered due to the escalation of the trade war between Washington and Beijing, according to Reuters.
Boeing is seeking to resell dozens of aircraft that China prevented from importing due to customs duties after returning a third plane to the United States, in a crisis that caused new criticism of Beijing by US President Donald Trump.
“What we did … is that we explained to Boeing completely that if that happens … we will take it all with pleasure,” Douglas said on the sidelines of the Arab Travel Market Exhibition.
Boeing took an unusual step publicly indicating the possibility of selling aircraft during a call with analysts last week, saying that there would be no shortage of buyers in a market facing a scarce supply.
Riyadh Airlines, backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, requested a Boeing and Airbus planes before launching its operations, including 60 A-123 A-123 aircraft it requested from Airbus last October, and up to 72 Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which it requested in March 2023.
Continuous crises
The Saudi airline does not expect to solve the delay in delivery of any of the two companies soon.
Douglas said that Riyadh Airlines did not notice any impact from the global fog surrounding the total economy on the demand for traveling from and to the Saudi capital, adding that the company intends to announce the request of broad body planes this summer.
He added that the airline, which intends to launch its operations in the last quarter of this year, has appointed 500 employees, and intends to increase its working power to a thousand employees during the nine months to the next twelve.
It is scheduled to continue to appoint pilots and members steadily with the delivery of aircraft.
