Riyadh Air is the rarest thing in commercial aviation: a well-funded, wide-bodied, global-ambition airline being built from nothing, in public, right now. It flew its first revenue service in mid-2026 and intends to reach more than 100 destinations by 2030. For anyone weighing a Gulf career, it is the one employer in the region whose entire crew base is still being assembled, which makes it both the biggest opportunity and the one with the least track record to judge it by.

This is what Riyadh Air is in 2026, who it is hiring, what stands out about working there, and the specific caveats of joining an airline this early.

The fundamentals

Riyadh Air is a Saudi flag carrier project backed by the Public Investment Fund, based at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. It launched commercial operations in mid-2026, opening with long-haul intent, its early network reportedly built around routes including London Heathrow, flown by the Boeing 787-9.

The orderbook is built for global reach. Once outstanding commitments are finalised, it comprises roughly 67 Boeing 787s, 31 Airbus A350-1000s and 60 A321neos, a deliberate split of long-haul widebodies for the intercontinental network and narrowbodies for domestic, regional and shorter medium-haul flying. It began with a small number of 787-9s and a short destination list, with trade reporting pointing toward around eight aircraft and 22 destinations by early 2027.

Who it is hiring, and how

Because the airline is still building its crew base, hiring is broad and active across categories.

Flight deck. Riyadh Air is recruiting experienced pilots on the international market, running roadshows well beyond the region, including in South America. This is the expected pattern for a launch widebody carrier: it needs command-qualified and type-experienced pilots before it has had time to grow its own, so the near-term openings favour experienced 787 and, in time, A350 crews rather than low-hour entrants.