New national airline announced by Saudi Crown Prince in March 2023 aims to recruit 300 flight attendants by the end of 2024
This photograph taken on June 19, 2023 shows a Riyadh Air Boeing 787-9 displayed during the International Paris Air Show at the Paris–Le Bourget Airport. Photo: AFP
Saudi Arabia’s new carrier, Riyadh Air, which will take to the skies in mid-2025, will hold a recruitment drive in Dubai to hire hundreds of employees across various positions, a senior official said.
“In terms of positions, we are recruiting cabin crew, pilots, engineers, maintenance and various corporate positions. We will be holding recruitment days in Dubai, Paris and Saudi Arabia in the fourth quarter of this year. We are aiming to recruit 300 cabin crew by the end of 2024, with the first joiners due to start in the first quarter of 2024,” Peter Bellew, chief operating officer of Riyadh Air, told Khaleej Times in an interview.
The airline held a recruitment roadshow in London in October. The airline, launched by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF), expects to create 200,000 jobs directly and indirectly by 2030.
“We continue to build our world-class team. Since the announcement of our launch (March 2023), we’ve already had over 900,000 applications, of which 52 per cent are women, from over 200 nationalities,” he said.
Riyadh Air, which is on schedule to take to the skies in mid-2025 with a number of routes both regionally and internationally, is set to fly to more than 100 destinations by 2030 and also play a key role in contributing to Saudi Arabia’s wider economic diversification and jobs creation, toward realising Vision 2030 goals.
“We are committed to building a diverse team that will oversee our operations globally and we invite candidates with passion and ambition from all around the world to help us build a new world-class airline that will shape the future of aviation,” said Bellew.
He added that the carrier is looking for people with a wide range of experience and expertise. People interested in joining Riyadh Air can look for opportunities and apply through its website.
The Saudi carrier will take part in the Dubai Airshow from November 13 to 17 and will reportedly announce a mega order during the five-day exhibition.
Quoting sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that the new Saudi airline will place an order for 100 Boeing 737 Max at the Dubai Airshow as it prepares to build a fleet from scratch.
“We have a lot of exciting news being revealed at the Dubai Airshow, including the unveiling of our much-anticipated second livery. We’ve been encouraged by the interest from across the aviation ecosystem and Dubai Airshow we’ll be sharing more exciting news and updates as we look toward our first commercial flight in 2025,” said Bellew.
In addition, it will showcase a partnership with luxury electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Group for the future of sustainable transportation.
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Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com