Riyadh Air enters Philippine market

MANILA, Philippines —   Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s second flag carrier, is mounting direct flights to the Philippines as it competes with the country’s largest airlines in a market primarily catering to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Airport operator New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) yesterday said Riyadh Air would begin flying directly between Manila and Riyadh by Sept. 9, adding a flight option to OFW mecca Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh Air will operate on a daily schedule, matching the same volume offered by flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL).

Riyadh Air is assigning a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner for the Manila flights to Riyadh. The aircraft will house 290 seats: 28 in business class, 39 in premium economy and 223 in economy cabin.

Riyadh Air will be competing with PAL in the daily flights between Manila and Riyadh. Further, low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific is in the mix, having also launched weekly services to Riyadh this year.

Flight RX873 departs King Khalid International Airport at 1:05 a.m. to land at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 3:55 p.m., local time, while return flight RX874 takes off from Manila at 5:25 p.m. to arrive in Riyadh at 10:15 p.m., local time.

For NNIC, Riyadh Air enhances flight options between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, adding also to the growing list of new carriers flying out of the airport.

“The new daily service adds another option for passengers traveling between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, and another international carrier to NAIA’s growing network,” NNIC said.

In July, NNIC confirmed the return of American carrier Delta Air Lines to Manila by 2027. Delta will be operating weekly trips to Los Angeles from March 28 to June 6, 2027, and daily services from June 7 onward.

Delta will become the only American airline linking Manila and Los Angeles. In its return, Delta will also be competing with PAL, although the latter has the upper hand of flying twice daily.

The addition of new carriers bolsters NNIC’s chances of raising NAIA’s passenger count further after reaching a record 52.02 million in 2025.

NNIC, led by San Miguel Corp., is tasked to undertake the P170.6-billion rehabilitation to hike the airport’s capacity to 62 million per annum, from the current 35 million.