Saudi jobs: New airline Riyadh Air begins hiring ahead of takeoff, will recruit 700 pilots

Saudi Arabia's new airline Riyadh Air has started the recruitment process and has invited pilots to apply as it gears up to take off in 2025.

"We are looking for the first complement of pilots to join our team, which will take us through the training period and build right up to the launch of the airline. I encourage anybody who's got experience training on the Boeing 787-9 or the Boeing 777 aircraft to look online at the opportunities we have," said Peter Bellew, chief operating officer, Riyadh Air.

Launched by the Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF), the airline ordered up to 72 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aeroplanes in a multi-billion dollar deal in April 2023. This included 39 confirmed aircraft with an option to acquire 33 additional wide-body 787-9 Dreamliner airplanes.

In total, it intends to purchase up to 121 787 Dreamliners in the fifth-largest commercial order by value in Boeing's history to support the country's goal of serving 330 million passengers and attracting 100 million visits by 2030.

Bellew said the interview process will start in September 2023, and the airline will start the formal induction of people in January 2024.

"Across the airline with 39 aircraft coming, we're going to hire 700 pilots across the next three years. We are looking for the people who have experience on the 787 but also people who've got existing wide-body experience," Bellew added.

The aviation sector has bounced back strongly after the pandemic, driven by demand for business and leisure travel across the globe.

Dubai's flagship carrier added 17,160 employees in the last financial year of 2022-23. Recently it announced another major recruitment drive to hire cabin crew, pilots, engineers and customer services staff.

• UAE: 79,000 Emiratis working in private sector, recording highest-ever rate of Emiratisation