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RIYADH: Announced at its headquarters in the Kingdom’s capital, Riyadh Air is officially taking to the skies — and it’s earlier than you think.

The airline’s maiden flight will depart from Riyadh to London’s Heathrow on Oct. 26 with a Boeing 787-9 technical spare aircraft named “Jamila,” which means “beautiful” in Arabic.

Riyadh Air, the newest national airline for ������Ƶ, was announced in 2023 and is owned by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund.

As well as revealing the maiden flight, the airline also announced a string of fresh updates — from its opening of a luxury lounge, launching of a loyalty program, as well as new high-profile partnerships.

“We are not just selling tickets; we are selling an experience,” Osamah Al-Nuaiser, senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, told Arab News in an exclusive interview.

The first daily launch flights will carry select guests, allowing the airline to refine operations and the overall experience before general commercial passengers are welcomed.

Flights to Dubai will soon follow, with winter 2025 and summer 2026 destinations to be announced imminently.

It was also announced that travelers will be welcomed into Riyadh Air’s first premium airport experience — the “Hafawa Lounge” at King Khalid International Airport, located between Terminals 1 and 2. 

“Hafawa” is an Arabic word that embodies warmth and hospitality. Spanning nearly 2,000 sq. meters and accommodating 370 guests, the lounge is exclusively for Business Elite and Business Class travelers and will have private and communal spaces and dining areas.

Riyadh Air is also launching its loyalty program “Sfeer,” now open to travelers via the Riyadh Air website. 

Meaning “Ambassador” in Arabic, early registrants will receive priority bookings and other perks. 

When fully activated in 2026, “Sfeer” will feature gamified challenges, leaderboards, invitations to exclusive events, complimentary onboard Wi-Fi and a range of benefits from global partners.

A cornerstone of Riyadh Air’s international strategy is its partnership with Saudia Airlines, the Kingdom’s national carrier, Al-Nuaiser emphasized.

“Saudia Airlines is very important. We started the first airline partnership with Saudia and the reason being we need to integrate not compete. Of course, we need to make sure that there’s synergy between both national carriers,” Al-Nuaiser told Arab News.

The arrangement allows travelers to earn and redeem loyalty points across both carriers, Riyadh Air and Saudia, strengthening integration and connectivity rather than competition.

A partnership with Saudi wellness brand Kayanee was also announced, which will see the company provide loungewear and amenity kits for Business Elite, Business, and Premium Economy cabins. 

Another major announcement focuses on Riyadh Air’s partnership with the popular ride-sharing brand Uber, which is already widely-used in ������Ƶ. This collaboration will provide seamless ground transportation for travelers and integrate loyalty benefits, marking a key step in connecting the seamless transport of passengers from doorstep to departure.

Cabin crew uniforms are designed by Paris-based Saudi designer Mohammed Ashi, and were unveiled in June, 2024, at Haute Couture Week in the French capital.

As announced earlier this year, Riyadh Air’s catering will be handled by Saudi company Catrion under a five-year, SR2.3 billion ($610 million) contract, ensuring consistent food and beverage quality across all flights. Menus promise to blend Saudi and international flavors for a premium culinary experience— and plenty of Saudi coffee.

Since its launch two years ago, Riyadh Air has partnered with 10 other global carriers including Delta, Virgin Atlantic, and Turkish Airlines, as well as China Eastern, Singapore Airlines, and EgyptAir, enabling gradual network expansion.

Underlining the pace of its development, Riyadh Air has grown from fewer than 10 employees to nearly 600.

“I’m employee number nine in the airline. So I’m part of the founding members of Riyadh Air. Never been prouder than seeing the establishment of this airline come to life, but also to have been blessed with the team that has been growing the trajectory,” Al-Nuaiser said.

He also emphasized Riyadh Air’s Saudi roots and cultural mission, saying: “We are from Riyadh and we will serve the people of Riyadh and the people of the Kingdom first. At the same time, we want to attract tourists and business travelers as part of the national strategy for tourism.”

Al-Nuaiser added: “We want to take the hospitality and generosity of the people and make sure that we also carry that and connect Riyadh to the world and the world to Riyadh. Flying is such a beautiful privilege— we want to bring a little bit of glamor back to the skies. We want to create an icon that we all are proud of.”

PARIS: A new documentary tells the story of AFP journalists who were trapped in the Gaza Strip at the beginning of the Israeli offensive, witnessing the destruction of their own reality through a lens.
Independent journalist Helen Lam Trong’s documentary “Inside Gaza” will be screened at the Bayeux prize for war reporters award ceremony on Thursday in the presence of six of the seven permanent AFP journalists who covered the beginning of the Gaza conflict, before being broadcast on French-German TV channel Arte on December 2.
It traces their daily lives after October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacks in Israel led to the deaths of more than 1,200 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Then came the Israeli offensive, which has killed more than 67,000 people, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry — figures the United Nations considers reliable.
Day after day, the journalists had no choice but to document the unimaginable suffering of their own people.
“I wanted to explain what this profession is, which is primarily carried out in the field,” Trong, who co-produced the documentary with AFP’s documentary production unit Factstory, told AFP.
“Inside Gaza” almost exclusively relies on AFP images, mostly taken by the journalists who testify in it.

- Attempts to discredit -

Reporting in Gaza means being surrounded by children who are injured or in shock, and dead bodies wrapped in shrouds or buried under the rubble.
There is no let-up, as Israel has forbidden foreign journalists from entering the Palestinian territory.
“They are seasoned journalists in their fifties, and they know how to maintain their rigour under conditions of extreme urgency and discomfort,” said Trong, who conducted lengthy interviews with them after they left Gaza in early 2024.
But attempts to discredit these journalists are frequent.
AFP journalist Mohammed Abed recalls several Western media outlets asking him to prove that a child had died, after pro-Israel lobby groups claimed that a photo he had taken of a father embracing his dead child in a shroud was actually that of a doll.
“We have rarely seen such questioning of information disseminated by experienced journalists,” said Trong. “Palestinian journalists have faced the ultimate level of distrust from the media.”

- Journalists a target -

What is broadcast is “far, far from reality,” the director said, describing a careful curation process and a decision to remove the most disturbing footage from the film — a difficult task given the extent of Gaza’s destruction.
AFP’s seven journalists and their families were evacuated between February and April 2024 and now reside in Doha, Cairo and London, struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The news agency is now working with a dozen freelancers in Gaza.
“The purpose of the film is to provoke reflection on what journalists do” as the profession faces global threats — particularly in Gaza, where the press is constantly targeted, said film producer and Factstory’s documentary unit head Yann Ollivier.
“I hope that those who claim there are no journalists in Gaza will be compelled, after watching this film, to acknowledge that there are indeed journalists there, and that they adhere to the ethics of factual journalism,” he told AFP.
Around 200 journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders.