Delta Air Lines has signed a memorandum of cooperation with Riyadh Air, a potential Saudi Arabian airline company established in 2023 and commence its flights in 2025. This comes as Saudi Arabia plans to spend $800 billion on tourism to turn the country into a tourist hub.
The memorandum of understanding inked on Tuesday includes comprehensive cooperation plans between the two airlines. Delta CEO Ed Bastian hailed the pact, stating it will “open an array of new choices, benefits and destinations for our customers traveling to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
The most significant factor in this agreement, however, could be Delta’s intention to launch nonstop service between the U.S. and Riyadh. It also includes interline and code-share marketing accords, pending regulatory approvals, which will tremendously improve the efficiency with which travelers can connect beyond Riyadh. The carriers also are looking into forming a joint venture partnership with antitrust immunity, similar to what Delta already has in place with Air France, KLM, and Korean Air.
This all comes at a time when Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is pressing deep into running economic diversification. That includes the billion-dollar bet on tourism infrastructure, luxury resorts along the Red Sea Coast, and the development of Qiddi, an enormous entertainment complex near Riyadh featuring things like a Six Flags theme park, a water park, and a Formula One racetrack.
However, potential travelers to Saudi Arabia should be aware of the travel advisory provided by the U.S. State Department, which is still active. These advisories include issues related to missile and drone attacks, terrorism, and rather conservative social and religious constraints such as a ban on alcohol, strict dress codes, and freedom of practicing other religions.
The deal represents a remarkable about-face for Delta, which was attacked in 2011 by pro-Israel groups when Saudi Arabian Airlines, now known as Saudia, joined the US-pilot SkyTeam alliance amid allegations that Jews were barred from traveling to Saudi Arabia. As then, so now—in response to all this—Delta stressed that visa policies are set by governments, not airlines.
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In the new deal, Delta Corporation will exclusively serve Riyadh Air in North America while Riyadh Air will exclusively serve Delta Corporation in Riyadh. This will also incorporate loyalty programs and other related aviation services such as maintenance, ground-handling, and training.
Interacting with the media, the chief executive officer of Riyadh Air, Tony Douglas said that apart from customer relations and loyalty programmes the two companies also have similarities in terms of environmental sustainability. From the words of Bastian, he agrees fully with this proposition that everybody stands to benefit from this partnership.
There is great strategic intent in the partnership as Saudi Arabia tries to position itself against established Middle Eastern aviation centers like Dubai and Qatar.