Boeing's crisis also hits Riyadh Air: delaying its 787s. But now there's the company's launch date

Boeing crisis also hits Riyadh Air and its plans for launching operations. In fact, Bloomberg reports that U.S. manufacturer will only be able to deliver four of the eight Boeing 787-9s planned for 2025 to the Saudi airline.

As a result, Riyadh Air had to revise its plans, moving the start of operations to the third quarter of the year, prediction that may even be optimistic according to some observers. The scope of the launch will also necessarily have to be revised, since, By having half the number of aircraft than planned, the initial scale of the network will also be downsized.

It seems, according to sources close to the company, that Riyadh plans to begin operations once it receives the first three Boeing 787s, so that more than one destination can be served right away.

In case, with such a small fleet initially, one of the planes should break down, the carrier has guarded against cancellations equipping itself in recent weeks with a Boeing 787-9 leased from Oman Air.

The plane, in an almost completely white fuselage (a sort of 'negative' of the official one, which is indigo blue with white titles and fuchsia tail), has the Muscat carrier's interiors and will retain them even when Riyadh Air begins operations.

Previously, the Saudi airline had had at its disposal another Dreamliner, also of the -9 series and in blue livery, which had been used for more than a year and a half to Promoting the brand around the world and initiate crew familiarization, but which was returned to the Aercap lessor and days will be delivered to Taag, the national airline of Angola.

It is not yet known when, exactly, between June and September (assuming the third quarter estimate is met) Riyadh Air will begin operations, nor is it known what the first destinations connected to the Saudi capital will be or what the interiors of its Dreamliners will look like.

In all, the carrier has ordered for long-haul 39 Boeing 787-9s with options for 33 more. For short- and medium-haul opted instead for Airbus and its A321neo, of which it placed an order for 60 examples.

According to reports from simpleflying.com, company CEO Tony Douglas recently personally visited Boeing's manufacturing plant in Charleston, in South Carolina, reporting that Some of Riyadh Air's 787s are already on the production line and that Boeing is doing everything possible to avert further delivery delays.