Delta has entered into an agreement to become the exclusive North American partner of the nascent Saudi carrier Riyadh Air.
Under a memorandum of understanding that was signed by the two companies on Tuesday in Atlanta, the airlines envision being interline and codeshare partners and having a deeper partnership that includes loyalty and customer experience benefits, digital transformation cooperation and cooperation on broader aviation services, such as maintenance and repair.
The airlines also intend to explore establishing an antitrust-immune, joint-venture partnership for flights between the United States and Saudi Arabia. And as part of the arrangement, Delta plans to eventually launch service to Saudi Arabia.
"This partnership with Riyadh Air will further Delta's mission of connecting the world and open an array of new choices, benefits and destinations for our customers traveling to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a prepared remark.
State-owned Riyadh Air plans to begin service in 2025. The company has so far ordered 39 Boeing 787-9 widebodies and has options on 33 more. An initial narrowbody order is pending, CEO Tony Douglas has said.
The airline aspires to connect Riyadh globally with 100 destinations by 2030, according to the ambitious timeline laid out by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman as the airline was announced in March 2023.
Saudi Arabia's launch of Riyadh Air is part of the kingdom's ongoing $800 billion investment to jump-start its tourism economy.