Riyadh Air confirms A321neo lie-flat business class

New Saudi Arabian flag carrier Riyadh Air will add flatbed business class suites to its forthcoming Airbus A321neo jets, complementing the airline’s touted ‘Mercedes Maybach’ 787 business class.

It’s part of a strategic play for premium travellers when Riyadh Air takes to the skies from mid-2025, although for the first 18 months even its shortest routes will be served by the Boeing 787s – which will also sport a premium economy offering which CEO Tony Douglas describes to Executive Traveller as “‘business minus’ as opposed to ‘economy plus’.”

But in late 2026, Douglas will collect the keys to the first of 60 new Airbus A321neo jets which will dominate the startup’s routes across the Middle East, into Europe and beyond.

Douglas says the single-aisle fleet’s business class cabin will be split between conventional recliners for short-range hops and “a second layout plan for longer range deployments.”

“And I believe that consistency with the product offering we’ve got would necessitate a lie-flat option on that.”

Speaking with UK blog Head for Points at London’s recent World Travel Market, Douglas explained the 60-strong Airbus order would be split between different models of the A321neo family, with the likelihood that those business class beds would feature on the long-legged A321LR or A321XLR.

As airlines embrace the extended-range A321neo variants for flights of up to ten hours, an increasing number see lie-flat business class seats and suites as a competitive cornerstone of passenger comfort.

Those include JetBlue, TAP Portugal, Iberia and Starlux, with Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways – both of which are regional rivals to Riyadh Air – soon to follow.

Competing with Qatar Airways, Emirates

And Douglas believes Saudi Arabia has plenty of pent-up demand for Riyadh Air.

“The population of the city of Riyadh alone is three and a half times more than the whole of the population of Qatar (and) at the moment, I think the number one flow on Qatar Airways, on business or first, is Saudi passport holders.”

“We’re not trying to create a market that doesn’t exist, “ Douglas reasons.

“We’re trying to actually serve a market that, at the moment, has to use the likes of Qatar Airways and Emirates” to connect onto major international routes.”

Riyadh Air’s global network will extend to “well over 100 destinations,” Douglas tells Executive Traveller.

“Within the first five years you’ll then see pretty much every capital city within Europe, all the big capital cities within the Far East, most of the big capital cities within Central Asia, obviously within our own region of the Gulf, the Indian subcontinent for very obvious reasons as well, and the eastern seaboard of North America.”

But it’ll take time to reach that target of 100+ destinations, and this is where – especially in the early years – Riyadh Air will rely on a portfolio of “strategic partners”.

That roster already includes the likes of Air China, China Eastern, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

Riyadh Air intends to fly to Australia and New Zealand, Douglas confirms, “but in the early days we certainly won’t have the fleet and maybe not the flow” to connect to both countries.

“So in the early stage of building our network, we’re more likely to put on a ‘thick route’ into Singapore, giving people a wonderful guest experience on Riyadh Air – and on an RX codeshare ticket, the final leg (to Australia or New Zealand) on an equally incredible product and experience with Singapore Airlines.”