Delta Air Lines unveiled plans on Tuesday to create a bold alliance with up-and-coming Riyadh Air. Their daring ambition? To charter the as-yet-untrodden airways between the United States and Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh Air, a fledgling that’s yet to spread its wings, has its maiden voyage penciled in for the summer of next year. This ambitious endeavor, buoyed by financial support from Saudi Arabia’s bountiful sovereign-wealth fund, is more than a mere business venture. It marks a pivotal step in the nation’s strategic segue away from a conventional oil-centric economy, coupled with a desire to stoke the flames of a burgeoning tourism industry.
The specifics of the partnership between Atlanta’s pride, Delta Airlines, and Riyadh Air remain tantalizingly veiled in mystery. Neither airline has peeked from behind the curtain to reveal the mechanics of this ambitious plan, with no hint as yet of a launching timeline or the economics of the deal. In a declaration that further piques intrigue, the CEO’s of both Delta and Riyadh avowed that neither airline ponders to take an ownership stake in the other.
Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO, and Tony Douglas, chief at Riyadh Air, painted a tantalizing picture of a future where the airlines function symbiotically – selling tickets on each other’s flights. This practice, colloquially known as codesharing, will necessitate a nod of approval from the U.S. Transportation Department.
Bastian and Douglas see this venture potentially blossoming into a powerful joint venture, which could reshape the panorama of international air travel. But before these plans soar into the stratosphere, they would need to secure immunity from U.S. antitrust laws—a regulations designed to prevent unbounded collusion on prices and revenue sharing.
Bastian is optimistic that while initial windfall may be predominantly U.S bound travelers, the traffic is predicted to variegate as tourism in Saudi Arabia begins to thrive.
Interestingly, no U.S. airline currently traces the aerotrail to Saudi Arabia. The nation’s flagship carrier, Saudia, plies a non-stop route connecting Saudi Arabia with New York, Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C, and Los Angeles. This daring venture promises to blaze a novel path in the high-stakes game of international aviation.
