Riyadh Air flies toward its sustainability goals

Saudi Arabia’s nascent flag carrier, Riyadh Air, is seeking cutting-edge operational systems to enhance fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.

The airline recently signed an agreement with Lufthansa Systems to integrate a comprehensive operational suite from the German company, comprising Lido Flight 4D, NetLine/Ops ++, NetLine/Crew, and NetLine/HubControl solutions.

In a statement by Lufthansa Systems, the operational suite runs in its Global Aviation Cloud with the highest level of reliability.

“Lido Flight 4D’s advanced technology computes the most efficient routes resulting in substantial savings for the airline while the next-generation operation control system NetLine/Ops ++ helps Riyadh Air to optimize the daily utilization of their flights,” the company said in its press release.

Lufthansa Systems added that NetLine/HubControl allows a fully digitized turnaround and optimized passenger connection management at the hub. “Furthermore, Riyadh Air will benefit from the new web-based pairing application in NetLine/Crew,” said the release.

Commenting on the agreement, Peter Bellew, chief operating officer at Riyadh Air, highlighted that one of their key goals is to achieve their sustainability goals, emphasizing that the “unique capabilities’ of Lufthansa Systems” solutions will help them to maximize fuel and carbon savings using the integrated Lido and NetLine solutions.

“The design can simultaneously drive the most effective and least carbon-intense routing with the lowest cost fuel usage. Our aim is to show the wider industry how each member of the Riyadh Air family can digitally track their own carbon footprint while reducing costs. The Lufthansa Systems cloud operations suite will be a key to unlocking digital leadership in aviation sustainability,” Bellew said.

He added: “As a digitally native airline, we require effective technological solutions that allow us to run an efficient and sustainable business. This agreement with Lufthansa Systems clearly demonstrates our continued progress towards our first flight in 2025 and is a significant building block in our operational readiness.”

The statement noted that as a new airline, Riyadh Air does not have to transition from legacy systems and can immediately start with fully digitized solutions.

“We are excited to support Riyadh Air during their ambitious growth in the next years. In partnering closely with Riyadh Air, we will continue to optimize our integrated operational suite and additionally strengthen our position in the Middle East”, added Thomas Wittmann, CEO at Lufthansa Systems.