The appointment comes as the Public Investment Fund-backed airline begins operations with daily widebody flights to Heathrow
New airline Riyadh Air has appointed FlyUs Aviation to provide General Sales Agent (GSA) services covering the UK and Ireland as flights get underway.
The contract started yesterday (26 October) and comes as the airline launched daily Boeing 787-9 flights into London Heathrow.
Under the agreement, FlyUs will oversee sales, customer support, and capacity management for the UK and Ireland, with bookings routed via its local teams.
The new carrier, which is backed by Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), has plans to connect Riyadh with 100 destinations by 2030.
“It is rare to see a new airline commence daily widebody operations into Heathrow, so being involved from the first departure is a real privilege,” said Carlo de Haas, president and chief executive, FlyUs.
“This partnership offers the market direct and reliable access into Saudi Arabia, a market of growing importance for manufacturing, e-commerce, perishable, and high-value logistics.”
De Haas pointed out that FlyUs also operates its own trucking fleet, providing daily temperature-controlled services to and from the Benelux and the UK.
“For our forwarder clients in Europe, this means they will be able to benefit from Riyadh Air’s new route to Heathrow via our road feeder services,” he said.
The nascent Riyadh Air is agreeing other new partnerships. In August, it was confirmed that it had selected SATS Saudia Arabia to provide cargo handling services at several airports across the country.
The five-year agreement includes cargo operations at the Riyadh Air hub at King Khalid International Airport (RUH), with further support to be provided at King Fahd International Airport (DMM) in Dammam and King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) in Jeddah.
Meanwhile, in September, the airline selected Unilode to supply and manage the carrier’s ULDs.
