Riyadh Air Has Launched: What the New Saudi Carrier and a Free 96-Hour Stopover Mean for Your Next Trip

Riyadh Air, the new Saudi flag carrier owned by the kingdom's Public Investment Fund, opened public bookings in the first quarter of 2026. The launch network targets 15 destinations on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, starting with London Heathrow, Dubai, and Cairo. Pair the airline with the free 96-hour Saudi stopover visa offered through Saudia and flynas, and you can leave the airport, sleep in a hotel, and explore Riyadh or Jeddah on a long-haul layover. Here is how it actually fits together if you are planning a trip in 2026.

I have been watching Gulf carriers reshape long-haul routing for years, and Riyadh Air is the most ambitious entrant since Etihad. The airline is wholly owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which has stated a goal of flying to 100 destinations by 2030. The plane that took off for London on the inaugural commercial day is a 787-9 with cabins built around suites, sliding doors, and embedded headrest speakers from Devialet. It is not a budget play. It is a premium long-haul carrier aimed squarely at the same business and award traveler who currently flies Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad.

*Information on this page is summarized from publicly available sources, including Riyadh Air, Visit Saudi, Saudia, and the kingdom's Ministry of Tourism. Routes, schedules, visa rules, and stopover policies can change. Always verify current details on official sites before booking.

The Launch Network: 15 Cities, Three Continents

Riyadh Air confirmed an initial network of roughly 15 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The first three commercial routes that opened to the public are London Heathrow, Dubai, and Cairo. Madrid, Manchester, Paris CDG, and Amman follow on the European and Middle Eastern side. Asia gets Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila, Mumbai, Islamabad, and Lahore.

The thing to notice is the geometry. Riyadh sits almost exactly between London and Mumbai, between Manchester and Bangkok, between Paris and Manila. Anyone routing between Western Europe and South or Southeast Asia is now offered a credible third option to Emirates via Dubai or Qatar Airways via Doha. The pricing during the soft launch has been competitive on Founder fares for the airline's Sfeer loyalty program.

The Cabins: What the 787-9 Actually Looks Like

The Riyadh Air 787-9 is configured around 290 seats across four cabins. There are 28 business class seats in 1-2-1, of which four are branded Business Elite and the remaining 24 are standard business class. Premium Economy and Economy fill out the rest of the aircraft. The Business Elite suites are the headline product, with 45 inches of pitch, sliding privacy doors that rise to 52 inches, a 32-inch 4K OLED screen, and a flat bed roughly 78 inches long when extended. The two center suites can be combined into a double bed, which is a feature you usually only see on Singapore Airlines or Etihad first class.

The detail that has gotten the most attention is the audio. Riyadh Air partnered with French audio firm Devialet to embed high-fidelity speakers directly into the headrests of business class seats, which means you do not need to wear noise-cancelling headphones to get a clean soundstage for the in-flight entertainment. Whether that holds up against engine noise on a long flight is a real question, but the idea is novel. The cabin design also leans heavily on a canopy twist motif inspired by traditional Arabic tents, which sounds a bit marketing-deck but in photos it looks restrained and quiet. If you spend a lot of time on long-haul, the visual cues make a difference.

On connectivity, the airline has stated that Wi-Fi is free across all cabins for members of the Sfeer loyalty program. That is a meaningful step. Most carriers still gate Wi-Fi behind a paid pass or restrict free use to top-tier elites. Free gate-to-gate Wi-Fi for any program member, even a basic-tier one, is the kind of policy that pulls business travelers away from the incumbents.

Sfeer: The Loyalty Program in Plain English

Sfeer is the airline's frequent flyer program. The name translates loosely to "ambassador" in Arabic, and the program is built around a few specific design choices that are worth understanding before you sign up. Earning is dynamic, which means you accumulate points based on what you spend, not how far you fly. Status is determined by Level Points, also spend-based, which is the same approach Delta and United have moved toward.

Two features stand out. Points do not expire, which is unusual and friendly. And the program supports point sharing inside what the airline calls a community, including with family and friends. If you fly Riyadh Air with a partner or relative, you can pool points without the legal-marriage requirement that some airline household accounts impose. There is also a gamified layer of challenges and achievements, which will be familiar if you use any modern app loyalty program. None of this changes the fundamental math, which is that you should still compare the cash price of a Riyadh Air ticket to the cash price of an Emirates or Qatar ticket on the same route. Loyalty is a tiebreaker, not a reason.

The 96-Hour Stopover Visa: Where Riyadh Air Gets Genuinely Interesting

Saudi Arabia offers a free 96-hour stopover visa to passengers connecting on Saudia or flynas, and Riyadh Air is expected to participate in the same scheme as the network expands. The visa is generated electronically during booking, costs nothing for the visa itself (you pay a small administrative fee plus a mandatory health insurance premium that adds up to under SAR 60), and is delivered to your inbox within hours. It permits up to four days in the kingdom inside a 90-day window, and it lets you leave the airport, stay in a hotel, and travel domestically.

For a long-haul connection in either direction, that is a real benefit. Instead of sitting in King Khalid International (RUH) for six hours, you can take the Riyadh Metro Yellow Line into King Abdullah Financial District, eat dinner in town, sleep in a hotel, and catch your onward flight the next morning. The Saudia stopover package even includes a complimentary one-night hotel stay if you book it through the airline at least 48 hours before departure. Visit the official Visit Saudi stopover page for the latest eligibility list.

If you want a full vacation rather than a layover hop, the regular Saudi tourist eVisa is a separate product. It runs USD 279 inclusive of fees and insurance, is good for one year and multiple entries, and allows up to 90 days per visit. Apply through the official portal at visa.visitsaudi.com. Eligible nationalities include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and a growing list of Asian and African countries. Bring a passport with at least six months of validity from your planned entry date.

Lounges at RUH: What to Expect on a Real Layover

King Khalid International splits across multiple terminals, with international Saudia operations centered in Terminals 1 and 2 and other international carriers in Terminal 5 (formerly Terminal 5/6 expansion). Lounge access varies by terminal, so check your boarding pass before you start hunting for amenities.

Plaza Premium operates in Terminal 1 and is part of the Priority Pass network. Al Fursan, the Saudia flagship lounge, sits in Terminals 2 and 4 and is reserved for Saudia and SkyTeam premium passengers and elites. Wellcome Lounge has airside locations in Terminals 1 and 2 and accepts pay-on-arrival day passes plus several network memberships. If you carry a card with LoungeKey or DragonPass credentials, both networks have at least partial coverage at RUH, and you should verify the specific lounge by terminal in your app before you commit to a route. Our airport lounge day passes guide covers cash-on-arrival pricing for travelers without a network membership.

Riyadh Air operates a flagship lounge at RUH for its own premium passengers and Sfeer elites, branded simply as the Riyadh Lounge. Specifics are evolving as the airline ramps up frequencies, so check the airline's site before assuming access. If you are flying Business Elite on the 787-9, lounge access is included.

How Riyadh Air Stacks Up Against Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad

The honest comparison: Emirates still wins on network breadth and A380 availability for the routes where the superjumbo flies. Qatar Airways still wins on consistency, with a mature business class product and arguably the strongest business class hard product in the region in Qsuite. Etihad has been rebuilding under new management and remains strong on point redemptions through partner airlines like American and Air Canada.

Where Riyadh Air competes is on the freshness of the product, the geographic position of Riyadh as a hub, and the stopover proposition. The 787-9 is a more comfortable cabin for long-haul than older A380 hardware, and the Devialet audio plus free Wi-Fi for loyalty members are real differentiators. If you are routing from Madrid or Manchester to Mumbai or Bangkok, RUH is geographically as good as DXB or DOH. If you have flexibility on dates, comparing Riyadh Air against the incumbents on the same route is worth ten minutes of your time.

Status matters too. If you are loyal to Skywards or Privilege Club because of years of accumulated tier credit, switching to Sfeer is a five-year decision, not a one-trip decision. Our explainer on how airline points actually work is worth reading before you chase the new shiny program.

Practical Booking Notes for 2026

Book directly on riyadhair.com for now. The airline is signing distribution deals with aggregators, but inventory and fare classes show up first on the carrier's own site. If you want the 96-hour stopover, book a single ticket that connects in Riyadh rather than piecing together two one-ways, because the visa is tied to the booking reference. Our guide on round-trip versus two one-ways goes deeper on the trade-off.

Premium credit cards still do most of the heavy lifting on the lounge side. If you do not have one yet, start with our all-in-one travel credit card guide, or browse regional breakdowns for the United States, the United Kingdom, and India.

Should You Try Riyadh Air?

If you have a flexible trip from Europe to South or Southeast Asia and want a fresh long-haul product, yes. The cabins are new, the hub is well placed, and the stopover visa is genuinely useful. If you are loyal to a Gulf incumbent and value status over novelty, watch the airline for a year before switching anchors. And if you have never been to Saudi Arabia and are curious, the 96-hour visa is the cheapest way to dip in. Pair it with a one-night Saudia hotel package, take the metro into the city, and decide whether a longer eVisa trip is worth booking later.

The Gulf went from one dominant carrier in 2010 to four credible ones by 2026, and that is good for travelers. More competition, more cabin innovation, and more lounge investment. Browse our airport directory to plan the rest of your trip, and check the credit cards page for options that pay for the lounge access.

Information is reviewed periodically. Always verify routes, visa eligibility, lounge access policies, and pricing on official sources before travel. *Images are illustrative and may differ from actual lounges.