How Riyadh Air aims to swoop on frequent flyers
The Gulf airline plans to take loyalty into the realm of the super-app.
By David Flynn, July 10 2024
Executive Traveller exclusive
Riyadh Air is counting down to the launch of its “digital platform”, and with it likely a first glimpse at the carrier’s plans for a frequent flyer program ahead of the beginning of flights in mid-2025.
But in keeping with the Gulf startup’s ambitious plans to shake up the status quo and be “more than just an airline”, CEO Tony Douglas says Riyadh Air’s loyalty play will lean into his concept of a staunchly digitally-led carrier
“We can't not have a frequent flyer program, of course,” Douglas tells Executive Traveller, and “it can't not have the foundations of a conventional loyalty program (such as) the way in which you can earn and burn (miles),” while also intelligently “offering rewards and catering to your past preferences.”
Status perks would be another given, such as access to the swish new business class lounge at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport plus the lounges of partners such as Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines.
And Douglas indicates Riyadh Air is likely to offer a status match to attract the top-tier frequent flyers of other airlines.
As with everything else Riyadh Air does, CEO Tony Douglas wants its loyalty program to be a bold, fresh and digital-native play.
But the as-yet-unbranded Riyadh Air rewards program will be one plank, albeit a key one, in a much broader and more powerful offering.
“Riyadh is about young people – the average age of the country is 29 – with huge ambition, and of course young people love technology,” Douglas explains.
“So (as an airline) we have to be a true digital native, and because we have no legacy, we've got a great opportunity there… digital, we believe, is an absolute gift, and because we’ve got a very young population we can’t not do that.”
An airline rewards super-app?
What does this mean for the shape of Riyadh Air’s loyalty program?
“We will go live with something which has more in common with the apps that young people are interacting with day in, day out, in terms of online retail, the Airbnbs, the Ubers, the Spotifys, the Amazons… that is a sense of the direction that we are going to be working in.”
Douglas has gone so far as saying in a recent interview at the Arabian Travel Market that Riyadh Air’s digital platform will not just “redefine the way passengers engage with our airline, transcending traditional cabin experiences”, but it “will rival the historic launch of the iPhone.”
Biometrics at the core, and at the fore
Likewise, Douglas’s digital team is big, very big, on biometrics, specifically when it comes to creating “a seamless and personalised customer experience… similar to what you’d expect from companies such as Amazon or Uber.”
“Imagine a user-friendly interface where you can plan your entire trip,” Douglas elaborated.
“For example, where you tell the system your budget, desired travel window, and preferences (hotel class or cabin class), and it curates personalised itineraries, adding hotels, attractions, and even restaurant recommendations to your trip basket.”
Biometrics will help customise the passenger experience on Riyadh Air.
“Also, your face becomes your passport, boarding pass and payment method, eliminating queues and frustrations.”
Even Riyadh Air’s business class “will take digital connectivity to the next level,” Douglas promises, while embedding facial recognition into the passenger experience “will allow us to personalise your experience even further.”
“For example, if you are left-handed, facial recognition could ensure your cutlery is placed accordingly when you travel with us.”
The colour purple
Perhaps the one thing we can be sure of is that the Riyadh Air rewards program branding, and the app which opens the door to airline’s much-hyped digital platform, will be very purple.
They’ll be the same lustrous indigo hues seen on Riyadh Air’s Boeing 787s as well as its chic uniforms, which Douglas says “connects to the golden age of commercial aviation, the sixties and PanAm.”
Lavender is the colour of loyalty and pretty much everything else at Riyadh Air.
Lavender, which is native to Saudi Arabia and spreads across the desert dunes in an explosion of colour each spring, is used by the nation’s government for ceremonial and official purposes.
“We put quite a bit of time and thought and effort into this colour palette, in fact we’ve copyrighted two colours – we call them electric amethyst and dark amethyst – because they’re completely unique, the Pantones for them didn’t even exist. And those two colours will be representative of the face of our brand.”
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