The former boss of Etihad Airways is to head an ambitious Saudi Arabian start-up carrier.
Tony Douglas has been recruited as chief executive of Riyadh Air which aims to serve more than 100 destinations worldwide by 2030.
The new airline will be a wholly owned company of the country’s vast Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has more than $600 billion in assets and is part of a consortium that owns Premiership football club Newcastle United.
The carrier aims to “leverage Saudi Arabia’s strategic geographic location between the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, enabling Riyadh to become a gateway to the world and a global destination for transportation, trade, and tourism,” according to the organisation.
The airline, operating from Riyadh as its hub, is expected to add $20 billion to the nation’s non-oil GDP growth, and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.
A statement from the sovereign wealth fund said: “The airline will usher in a new era for the travel and aviation industry globally.
“Riyadh Air will be a world-class airline, adopting the global best sustainability and safety standards across its advanced fleet of aircraft equipped with the latest cutting-edge technology.”
The plans follow the unveiling of a plan in November to develop Riyadh’s King Salman international airport into one of the world’s largest with six parallel runways capable of handling 130 million passengers by 20230 and 185 million a year by 2050.
Douglas announced in October that he would be leaving Abu Dhabi-based Etihad.