Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chinese tech company Huawei.
The partnership will leverage Huawei technology across the airline’s digital ecosystem to optimise the passenger experience, including through the Cloud and AI. Additionally, over 20% of Chinese citizens use Huawei smartphones, representing a significant opportunity for Riyadh Air to tailor their services to Chinese customers.
Vincent Coste, Chief Commercial Officer of Riyadh Air, said:
The Chinese market is an important part of Riyadh Air’s global expansion and essential to Saudi Arabia’s tourism growth.
As the Kingdom raises its target to 150 million tourists by 2030, our partnership with Huawei strengthens our ability to deliver the digital, seamless and personalised journey Chinese guests travellers expect.
Riyadh Air will begin commercial service in 2026. Aiming to serve 100 destinations worldwide by 2030, the airline is critical to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification strategy. According to IATA, Asia-Pacific remains the fastest-growing region for air travel, and China forms a critical piece of this puzzle. Coste has asserted that Riyadh Air will improve connectivity between the two countries.
Peak Yin, CEO KSA, HUAWEI Consumer Business Group (CBG) said:
We have found a true partner in Riyadh Air, a digital-native, future-focused national carrier. Huawei is committed to supporting Riyadh Air with our best global technologies to co-create world-class digital experiences for travellers from China – and around the world.
This partnership is designed as a seamless and continuously evolving collaboration, enabling us to innovate together, elevating every stage of the travel experience and pushing the boundaries of what technology can bring to the aviation industry – and its guests.
Huawei joins Riyadh Air’s growing list of technology partners, including IBM, FLYR, and Loyalty Juggernaut. The carrier aspires to become the world’s first ‘digital-native’ airline, unencumbered by legacy infrastructure.
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