One of the first things that you see when you visit any airline website is the Booking Engine where you can search for flights, select dates of travel and in some cases class of service along with count of passengers before starting the booking process. The booking engine is completely missing when one visits the website of Riyadh Air, which announced the launch of flights to London Heathrow. The airline which has been waiting in the wings since it was founded in 2023, will launch flights to Heathrow starting October 26, 2025 but passengers will not be able to book these flights. Instead, the flights will be open for employees and “select” groups. The airline will deploy a 787-9 aircraft named “Jamila” which is a technical spare for the airline.
The airline is also launching a loyalty program named “Sfeer” meaning “Ambassador” in Arabic. Uniquely, Sfeer members can share level points within their community, allowing points to be used by friends and family to enhance their membership level. “With Sfeer, we’re creating much more than just a loyalty program; we’re building a dynamic, digitally immersive lifestyle ecosystem,” said Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air. “Our vision is to truly change the game, offering unparalleled benefits and fostering a unique sense of community among our members.” A cornerstone of Sfeer’s innovation is its community-centric design where members will soon have the ability to share their points, benefits, and even qualifying spend with friends and family, fostering a sense of collective reward and generosity that reflects the values of Saudi society. Once fully activated in 2026, Sfeer will feature engaging gamified experiences with challenges and leaderboards designed to encourage engagement and participation. Furthermore, Sfeer proudly offers a “no points expiry” policy, ensuring that every point and benefit is meant to be enjoyed, not wasted, truly embodying the essence of Saudi generosity.
Interestingly, the airline does not have commercial flights yet but has a lounge at Riyadh, while the technical spare arrived in Riyadh in January 2025. Typically airlines do not have a dedicated spare aircraft. The airline has been expecting two Dreamliners before the end of 2025 to begin operations but is now forced to used the technical spare to launch operations. The airline has A321neo, A350-100 and 787-9 Dreamliners on order.
Focus on slots at Heathrow
In July 2025, Riyadh Air received slots at Heathrow from British Airways for Winter Schedule which starts October 26, 2025. These slots were classified as “Remedy”, which typically refers to some competition requirements which mandate an airline to release a slot.
This puts the focus back on the slot allotment at Heathrow, which is often called out as transparent but airlines have struggled to get slots while being ready to operate commercially and have had to rely on expensive leases or purchasing slots. Indian carriers, Air India and lately IndiGo have been chasing slots at Heathrow for a long time and hold the ability to add flights, especially Air India with its own metal.
Network Thoughts
Riyadh Air operated a flight to Mumbai as part of its preparation schedule in April 2025. The airline has called out Dubai as its second destination but it would certainly look at Mumbai or Delhi as part of its initial destinations as and when the aircraft start arriving.
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