Can a multi-billion-dollar Riyadh Air succeed?

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud has recently announced plans to transform ‘Riyadh Air’ into a world-class airline that will shape the future of aviation. The Crown Prince has been working tirelessly in modernizing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, while deserts are already turning into green oasis under his magnanimous leadership. With a long list of success stories of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, there still is question about the future of Riyadh Air.

Following officially unveiling the plan of ‘Riyadh Air’, Saudi Arabia has already spent £30bn on a fleet of 72 Boeing jets for the airline in what was the manufacturer’s fifth biggest order ever.

According to information, two of the key reasons behind Western passengers generally avoiding flying airlines of Muslim countries are – bad inflight service and non-availability of alcoholic beverages. The airlines that do ban inflight alcohol tend to be from Islamic countries. Given Islamic cultures frown on alcohol consumption, airlines that completely ban alcohol include Afriqiyah Airways, Air ArabiaAriana Afghan, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Iran Air, Jazeera Airways, Kuwait Airways, Mahan Air, Pakistan International Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, and Tunisair.

Of the dry airlines with international operations, Saudia Arabian Airlines or Saudia’s network is among the most far-reaching. Their flights go as far as the United States, Asia, and Europe. Like other Saudia Arabia-based airlines, Saudia is explicit about its alcohol policy.

Sharjah-based Air Arabia also makes its stance on alcohol quite clear, saying, “smoking and alcohol are prohibited onboard Air Arabia aircraft.” Air Arabia doesn’t fly quite as far as Saudia does, but its fleet of narrowbody Airbus jets will get you to Europe, well into southeast Asia, and Africa.

Another well-known airline with a no-alcohol policy is Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The airline’s conditions of carriage (the contract you enter into with an airline when you buy a ticket to fly on them) say:

“You are not allowed to consume alcohol aboard an aircraft (whether purchased as duty-free or otherwise obtained)”.

Jazeera Airways is another Gulf airline with a no-alcohol policy. While that’s not necessarily a problem on a short local flight, the thought of a six-hour Jazeera Airways flight to London on a squeezy Airbus A320 without a drink could be a deal-breaker for some.

Like all regions, the Gulf region isn’t homogenous. Hardline positions in places like Saudi Arabia don’t necessarily carry through to neighboring nations. The big Gulf airlines like Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways do serve alcohol inflight and like most western long-haul airlines, use it as a key marketing tool.

Malaysia Airlines doesn’t serve alcohol on flights within three hours flying time of its Kuala Lumpur hub. Turkish Airlines doesn’t serve alcohol on domestic flights but does on international flights. They are among the airlines with global aspirations that have to cater to global market preferences no matter how distasteful they may be on home soil.

Unusually, a couple of airlines will let you bring your own (BYO) alcohol onboard. Normally, BYO and flying is a no-no, but both Royal Brunei Airlines and Egyptair allow it on their flights. Both countries are Islamic. Brunei is a dry country, but non-Muslim passengers can bring their own alcohol onboard international flights and consume it inflight. However, any leftovers will get confiscated on arrival into Bandar Seri Begawan.

While alcohol is available within Egypt, that country’s flag carrier doesn’t provide alcohol on any of its flights. But Egyptair is generally fine with you picking up a bottle of something at the duty-free shop and bringing it onboard.

Shall Riyadh Air follow no alcohol rule of Saudi Arabian Airlines?

To almost all the Western travelers, Saudi Arabian Airlines is not in their list of favorite airlines for two reasons – no alcohol or dry flights and poor inflight service. Similar sentiment prevails in case of airlines of other Islamic and Muslim nations. Flight attendants of Saudi Arabian Airlines will always try to compensate the passengers with guava or orange juice as alternative to alcoholic beverage, which actually never work.

An online advertisement of Riyadh Air for recruiting flight attendants

Commenting on the standard of services of Middle Eastern airlines, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor of Blitz, who also is a frequent flyer said:

“Amongst the Middle Eastern airlines, I have travelled with Emirates and Qatar Airways. Haven’t travelled with Etihad, Gulf Air, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Jazeera Airways, Kuwait Airways, or Iranian airlines Iran Air. Never travelled with Pakistan International Airlines, while did not have a chance to try Turkish Airlines, Malaysian Airlines etcetera.

“If you ask my opinion, I must say – best service is always provided by Qatar Airways and then Emirates. The third airline I can mention here is not a Middle Easter airline and that is Virgin Atlantic. Service of Thai Airways was superb before two decades. Now it is a total mess, while passengers feel disgusted when they are seated in a broken seat. It happened when I flew Thai Airways from Philippines to Thailand. My experience with Delta Airlines, American Airlines, PanAm are real nightmare. These airlines can only be compared with imprisonment. Flight attendants are rude. Same opinion is applicable in case of British Airways and Aeroflot. Domestic airlines in China are of course not up to the mark. Rather, service of Dragon Air, Cathey Pacific and good.

“In my opinion, key challenges for Riyadh Air will be to compete with the inflight services of Qatar Airways and Emirates. In this case, my question is – shall they also follow the no-alcohol policy of Saudi Arabian Airlines? If they do then they have to offer heavy discount on tickets or emerge as a budget airline. Of course, any budget airline cannot be compared with a premium airline like Qatar Airways, Emirates or Virgin Atlantic”.

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