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New Premium Airline Riyadh Air Prepares For Late 2025 Takeoff

The ultra-premium service has already begun forging strong partnership and sponsor deals, and plans to connect 100 cities by 2030.

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1 year ago

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new premium airline riyadh air prepares for late 2025 takeoff

Saudi Arabia’s latest airline venture, Riyadh Air, is gearing up for its first flights in late 2025. With a strong emphasis on digital innovation, premium service, and strategic alliances, the airline is poised to shake up the aviation sector.

“By the end of this year, you will see Riyadh Air in the skies,” CEO Tony Douglas announced at the Saudi-backed Future Investment Initiative conference. His message was clear: the airline is fully prepared to serve both domestic and international travelers.

As a key player in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 initiative, Riyadh Air has been rapidly building international partnerships, such as its latest collaboration with LIV Golf. The airline was also responsible for bringing singer Jameela to Saudi Arabia for the first time.

CEO Douglas has ambitious hopes of Riyadh Air bringing back the golden age of aviation, comparing it to iconic carriers like TWA and Pan Am. He promised “haute couture, glamour, refinement, and style” from the airline’s cabin experience, setting a high bar for service and aesthetics.

Despite a desire to bring back the glory days of commercial aviation, Riyadh Air is still adopting a modern, digital-first approach. An AI-driven concierge service will integrate travel bookings with entertainment and dining options, with CEO Tony Douglas likening the system’s intuitive capabilities to platforms like Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb.

Douglas sees vast potential in the Saudi aviation market, calling it “underserved” and ready for growth. Riyadh Air has already secured connectivity agreements with major carriers like Delta Air Lines and Singapore Airlines, ensuring smooth connections to international destinations.

“With Delta, for example, a passenger flying from Riyadh can easily connect to Phoenix or Baltimore via Atlanta or JFK,” Douglas explained, highlighting the convenience of the partnership.

Also Read: Dubai Teams Up With Elon Musk’s Boring Company For “Dubai Loop”

The airline’s fleet plans include commissioning 72 Boeing 787s and 60 Airbus A321neos, with negotiations ongoing for additional widebody aircraft. Despite Boeing’s recent delivery issues, Douglas remains confident: “Boeing will come good, there is no question”.

By 2030, Riyadh Air aims to serve 100 global destinations, with Miami among the cities under review. Douglas pointed to Saudi Arabia’s rising tourism profile, noting that it was the second most-searched travel destination on Google last year, thanks to attractions like Diriyah, AlUla, and Riyadh itself.

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Syria Just Got Its First Super App Featuring Built-In Digital Payments

Built by UAE-based Syrian founders with the Ministry of Tourism’s backing, My Syria lands as visitor numbers more than double.

Published

4 days ago

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August 1, 2026

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syria just got its first super app featuring built-in digital payments

For most of the past decade, paying for anything in Syria with an international card was effectively impossible. Sanctions, a collapsed banking sector, and years of isolation left the country running on cash. That is what makes the launch of My Syria — the country’s first super app — more than a routine product announcement.

Developed by 121 Living, a company founded by four UAE-based Syrian entrepreneurs — Rami Kaiem, Feras Kaiem, Waseem Qudmani, and Kinan Madi — the app launched in Damascus on July 30 under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Mazen Al-Salhani. It bundles hotels, restaurants, transport, attractions, food delivery, and other lifestyle services into a single platform, currently offering eight services with plans to expand to more than 40 verified tourism and hospitality providers across the country.

Although the app already sounds enticing, the headline feature is its built-in payments. My Syria is the first platform in Syria to support cross-border digital payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express — familiar tools for international visitors, and a route into the digital economy for local businesses that have long operated outside it.

my syria super app launch event

The launch rides on a sharp rebound for the troubled country. Syria’s tourism sector recorded 3.52 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2026, a 111 percent increase over the 1.67 million during the same period in 2025 — a mix of returning expatriates, regional visitors, and international tourists.

Also Read: This UAE Platform Wants To Replace Fashion Photo Shoots With AI

The Ministry of Tourism, which supported and supervised the app’s development, frames the launch as proof of concept for a wider strategy. “Digital transformation is one of the Ministry’s strategic priorities because it enables us to build a more competitive, connected and investment-ready tourism sector,” Al-Salhani said, inviting technology companies “globally, regionally and locally” to explore opportunities across the wider economy.

For 121 Living, this is phase one, with additional services and expanded geographic coverage planned. Whether a super app can flourish in a market still rebuilding its infrastructure is an open question, but for the first time in years, a visitor to Damascus can pay for dinner with their phone.

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