Riyadh Air's beautiful blue Boeing 787? It will be flying very soon, but for another company. Meanwhile, a second livery pops up

For sixteen months, from June 2023 to October 2024, the Riyadh Air's Boeing 787-9 made a fine showing at air shows, including the Dubai Air Show and the Le Bourget Air Show in Paris, in the Beautiful indigo blue livery of the company based in the Saudi capital, scheduled to debut during 2025.

Carrier, in March 2023, placed an order for 39 Dreamliners, with an option for 33 more aircraft of the same type. In October 2024 he then thought about the short-to-medium range, choosing Airbus and Placing an order for 60 Airbus A321s.neo.

The delivery dates of the neo were not indicated. However, in the note accompanying the announcement of the order with Airbus, Riyadh Air reaffirmed its intention to debut in the year that has just begun and to have a fleet of 100 airplanes available in 2030.

Nothing is known, exactly, about the internal configuration of the aircraft ordered, although It appears that Riyadh Air will not have First Class on its Boeing 787s. And nothing is known about the network and in particular regarding the first destinations that will be served.

In return, the company presented the elegant uniforms of its cabin crews and has been carrying on a publicity battle for some time now through television commercials and Sponsorship of events and sports teams. And of which the indigo blue 787 has been the standard bearer for nearly a year and a half.

However, As of a few weeks ago, the 787-9 no longer wears the colors of the future Saudi Arabian company. And he will not be the one to operate the first flight with passengers on board operated by Ryadh Air.

It will, yes, enter passenger service in a few weeks. But it will do so in the fleet and under the colors of another airline: it will in fact be the first of four Boeing 787s ordered by Angolan airline TAAG, which is based at the Luanda airport.

The plane is already in the (albeit very beautiful) colors of the African carrier, to which will be delivered (on lease from Aercap) during February. It will be followed by another 787-9 and two larger 787-10s., during a fleet renewal program that TAAG has been carrying out for about two years and which has already seen the first of 15 Airbus A220-300s arrive in Luanda..

In the meantime, however, A second livery pops up from Riyadh, which the Saudi company posted on social media in recent hours. 'Dressing it up' is always a Boeing 787-9, which appears to be leased and with the marks HZ-RXX. The indigo blue, in this case, has remained only on the engine nacelles, while the fuselage is almost entirely white, but with a blue 'mask' around the cockpit windows. The main common element with the original livery is the fuchsia tail with the 'R' stylized after the company's branding.

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