Riyadh Air to begin London flights July 1 with Boeing fleet

Riyadh Air’s first commercial flight will finally take off on July 1, after delays in Boeing aircraft deliveries repeatedly pushed off its debut.

The Saudi flag carrier has started selling tickets for its daily Riyadh-London service, which will be operated using its new Boeing 787-9 fleet.

Backed by billions of dollars from the Public Investment Fund, Riyadh Air is aimed at business and luxury travelers, competing directly with Gulf rivals Emirates and Qatar Airways.

British Airways, meanwhile, has postponed the restart of flights to Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv until Aug. 1 because of the Iran war, while also cutting planned service levels and permanently dropping Jeddah from its route network.