Riyadh Air CEO says airline supply chain issues starting to improve

By David French

MIAMI (Reuters) -Supply chains for major planemakers Boeing and Airbus are showing signs of moderate improvement, the chief executive of Saudi start-up Riyadh Air said on Thursday.

Securing adequate parts, for both new and existing planes, has been a major problem for the airline industry in recent years. The causes ranged from general disruption emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic to industrial action at Boeing which caused a seven-week halt to most jet production last fall.

"Are there big challenges out there - yes there definitely are. Is the supply chain stretched and under huge stress - yes, and yes," Tony Douglas told an FII Institute event in Miami.

"But am I seeing signs of moderate improvement - I honestly have to say, yes I do."

Douglas said one continued bottleneck was the suppliers that serve both Boeing and Airbus, which he described as being "one level down". He said Riyadh Air was working to overcome any challenges, without adding further details.

Backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, Riyadh Air has been ordering planes from both manufacturers ahead of its launch. This includes 60 narrow-body A321-family jets from Airbus in October, as well as up to 72 Boeing 787 Dreamliners ordered in March 2023.

The airline is currently engaged in a process to select extra wide-body jets, Douglas said, without elaborating further.

Douglas told Reuters in October it was planning to talk to Airbus about A350-1000 aircraft and Boeing on its 777X jets. 

Riyadh Air is expected to start operations by the end of the year, Douglas told the event. In the October interview, Douglas had guided that it would begin flights in the second half of this year.

(Reporting by David French in Miami; Editing by Nia Williams)