Riyadh Air Unveils Its First Airbus A321neo, Dressed in Pearl, as Its Network Grows Toward Thirty Destinations

The aircraft wears what Riyadh Air calls its signature pearl livery. The design takes its lines from the traditional Bedouin tent and from the movement of calligraphy, set in shades of indigo and lavender, with feather-like patterns across the rear fuselage and a dark frame around the cockpit windows. The airline's name appears in both Arabic and English. It is a quietly confident piece of design, closer to the language of a luxury house than to the bold branding of most airlines, and it signals the kind of experience the carrier intends to offer.

Readers who follow the airline's progress will find its home in our guide to King Salman International Airport and Riyadh Air, the vast new airport that is planned to become the carrier's long-term hub, and in our wider survey of the best airlines to the Middle East in first and business class.

Milan is the fifteenth destination to open for booking, and the airline has set itself the aim of having nearly thirty destinations on sale by the end of 2026 and more than one hundred by 2030. Its order book supports that ambition: once the most recent agreement with Boeing is finalized, its firm order for the 787 Dreamliner is expected to reach sixty-seven aircraft, and the A321neo now joins them as the second pillar of the fleet.

For the traveler, the practical result is a growing choice of flights to Riyadh on an airline that has placed design and service at the center of its identity. The capital itself has never offered more to the visitor, from the restored mud-brick quarter of At-Turaif to a new generation of hotels and restaurants; our guide to Riyadh's luxury hotels and things to do is the place to begin, and our Saudi Arabia travel guide carries the journey on to AlUla and the Red Sea. The airline is, in its way, one of the most visible achievements of Saudi Vision 2030, and the arrival of its first A321neo is another step from ambition to everyday service.